NATO kills 50 militants in Afghan battle 27/07/2008 - 13:29:22
Dozens of insurgents in eastern Afghanistan were killed in a battle today after more than 100 attacked a government centre near the border with Pakistan, officials said.
American troops and aircraft assisted Afghan forces during the battle in Spera district of eastern Khost province, Governor Arsallah Jamal said.
The militants attacked police guarding the district centre from four directions before being pushed back, Mr Jamal said. More than 50 militants died, while the rest fled into Pakistan, he said. Two policemen died and four were wounded.
The troops “called for air strikes consisting of heavy machine-gun fire from helicopters”, Nato said in a statement.
“Some insurgents attempted to take cover in a nearby building that helicopters then struck with missiles,” it said. “The number of insurgents killed is in double-digit figures.”
Separately, several militants were killed and four were detained during an operation in neighbouring Paktia province yesterday, the US-led coalition said.
The troops were searching compounds when a group of insurgents fired on them from a fortified position, the statement said. “Coalition forces responded with small-arms fire, killing the militants,” it said.
Afghanistan faces growing militancy nearly seven years after a US-led invasion ousted the hard-line Islamic Taliban movement from power.
The number of militant attacks in eastern Afghanistan has increased by 40% so far this year from the same period last year.
Afghan and Western officials say Pakistan has not done enough to crack down on militant hide-outs on its side of the border, a charge Pakistan rejects.
More than 2,700 people – most of them militants – have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press tally of official figures.
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