Taliban fighters killed in US bombing raid

US jets bombed an area of southeastern Afghanistan today killing up to 16 Taliban guerrillas.

There were varying reports on the casualty figures with the US military saying 14 rebels were killed.

The attack was part of joint operations between the US military and Afghan militias hunting down Taliban fighters blamed for a series of attacks mostly in the south and east of the country, according to Ahmad Khan, a spokesman for the governor of Zabul province.

A US military statement issued from the coalition headquarters at Bagram Air Base, north of the Afghan capital, said the attack was in southern Kandahar province. Both Ahmad Khan and Juma Khan, a district police chief, said the assault occurred in the Dai Chupan district of southeastern Zabul province, north of Kandahar.

Juma Khan put the death toll at 16.

Col. Rodney Davis, spokesman for the US military at Bagram Air Base, said that this afternoon, at least 14 rebels were killed when Afghan Militia Forces and coalition Special Operations forces supported by fighter jets – A10s, AV8s and F16s – engaged anti-coalition forces in Kandahar province.

There were no reported coalition casualties, he said, adding: “Operation Warrior Sweep continues.”

Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Mohammed Hanif said that Afghan government troops launched two separate offensives against guerrilla fighters in the mountainous Dai Chupan district.

“It was a massive force of the government who wanted to kill and arrest the Taliban but they were not successful,” he said claiming the Taliban contingent, led by Amir Khan Haqqani, fled the area and that civilians were killed.

The offensive followed a wave of Taliban attacks against government targets over the past two weeks.

At least five government soldiers riding in a truck were killed in a Taliban ambush in Dai Chupan district on Saturday.