Afghan forces backed by NATO forces have killed some 50 Taliban
insurgents and injured almost the same number in Taliban's
birthplace Kandahar in southern Afghanistan over the past three
days, provincial police chief said Wednesday.
"In a joint operation launched against militants in Arghandab
district on Monday, so far some 50 enemies have been killed and 50
others sustained injuries," Sayed Aqa Saqib, police chief of
Kandahar, told Xinhua via telephone.
Another 12 insurgents have been captured and two of them were
wounded, he said.
Afghan troops in the bloody clash, which still is going on, also
discovered a weapon cache, according to the police chief.
Several families in the area had left their homes for safer
places, he added.
Saqib also said that more than 200 insurgents had been hidden in
residential areas among the local communities and the troops have
been tightening nose around to kill or capture them without
damaging the civilians.
Meantime, Taliban's purported spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi
rejected the claim saying no casualties have been inflicted to
militants.
Taliban militants have intensified their pressure on Afghan
government over the past weeks as they launched simultaneous
attacks on Arghandab in the southern Kandahar province and Gilistan
district in the western Farah province to consolidate their
positions before the onset of the harsh winter.
Ahmadi also claimed their fighters captured Gilistan district on
Tuesday but police spokesman in Farah province Mohammad Gul
rejected the claim saying government forces would soon evict the
rebels from the area.
Heavy fighting between government troops and Taliban insurgents
has been continuing over the control of Gilistan district for the
past two days and so far 30 militants have been killed, Gul told
Xinhua earlier on Wednesday.
This year Afghanistan witnessed the deadliest period since 2001
as militancy-related violence and conflicts have claimed the lives
of over 5,300 people, mostly insurgents, since January 2007.
The Taliban, after being toppled by the US invasion in late 2001
following the September 11 attacks on the United States, has waged
a years-long insurgency against the Afghan administration and
international troops.
(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2007)
