Seven Taliban rebels killed in army raid

Afghan soldiers and police raided a hideout where a large group of suspected Taliban militants were suspected of preparing to disrupt this weekend’s presidential elections, prompting a three-hour firefight that left seven insurgents dead, officials said today.

The fighting broke out at about 3pm yesterday in a mountainous area of southern Uruzgan province, hours after rebels had attacked a police checkpoint, said Matiullah Khan, the provincial chief of police.

Police followed the rebels into the mountains, where they came across dozens of other Taliban fighters. Seven rebels were killed, and five others arrested. The Afghan forces suffered no casualties.

Khan said officials believe the men were plotting to launch attacks ahead of Saturday’s landmark presidential elections, though he gave no specifics on what they might have been planning.

“We have increased our security all over the province because of the election,” said Khan. “We don’t want any of the Taliban to be in a position to attack polling sites.”

Khan said authorities found five missiles after a search of the hideout, as well as automatic weapons. The remaining rebels fled deeper into the mountains.

The Taliban has kept up a steady drumbeat of violence ahead of the vote, with attacks on election workers, frequent rocket assaults on US bases, and occasional ambushes.

The threat of violence has kept many of the 18 candidates, especially interim President Hamid Karzai, largely off the campaign trail. Karzai survived an assassination attempt last month when Taliban rebels fired a rocket at his helicopter on one of his few forays out of the capital. His vice president was targeted later, surviving a bomb attack on his convoy in north-eastern Afghanistan.

The rebels have not yet been able to launch the high-impact assault many had feared in the days leading up to the vote. Officials say they are confident the vote, the first time Afghans will be asked to directly choose their president, will go forward.