Afghan and NATO-led troops killed up to 70 insurgents in a
battle involving attack helicopters and air support while a soldier
from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed
in a bomb blast, the force said Sunday.
The separate incidents occurred on Saturday in the southern
province of Uruzgan, where ISAF has based Australian and Dutch
soldiers in the battle to rid the country of Taliban insurgents.
ISAF and Afghan National Army troops were attacked by between 100
and 150 insurgents near a base in the province, the force said in a
statement.
"In a firefight lasting several hours, the insurgents were
engaged by ISAF and (Afghan) small-arms fire, attack helicopters
and close air support," it said.
"We know that insurgents have been seeking to use north Uruzgan
as a safe haven and we have been taking action," ISAF spokesman
Major Luke Knittig said. "They initiated the action but we were
there with a purpose and ready for them."
In the second encounter, an ISAF convoy was struck by a bomb.
One soldier was killed and one wounded, another statement said.
ISAF has 31,000 troops from 37 countries across Afghanistan
trying to help local authorities establish security five years
after the Taliban were removed from power.
(China Daily October 30, 2006)
