Tabilan fighters killed in Afghan clashes

Afghan and US-led coalition forces backed by helicopter gunships killed 19 suspected Taliban in southern Helmand province as NATO prepares to take command of the volatile region, a local official said today.

Six Taliban were killed Thursday and another 13 on Friday and Saturday during clashes in the district of Garmser in Helmand province, said Haji Ghulam Muhiddin, the provincial governor’s spokesman.

He said 15 Taliban were also wounded today but managed to flee from the area, which is one of the two southern districts briefly captured by the militants earlier this weekend then reclaimed by the coalition and Afghan forces.

“Afghan soldiers and police killed these Taliban with the help of the coalition forces, who used helicopter gunships to target their positions” Muhiddin said.

They found AK-47 rifles at the scene, and a search was under way for those who fled, he added.

Garam Sair lies about 430 miles south-west of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, where coalition and Afghan forces have been hunting Taliban fighters.

In recent months the southern regions have witnessed some of the worst fighting since the Taliban regime was ousted in lat 2001 for sheltering Osama bin Laden. The militants have stepped up suicide attacks and assaults on Afghan and US-led coalition forces. More than 800 people, mostly militants, have died in violence nationwide since mid-May.

Col. Tom Collins, the spokesman for the US-led coalition, said the Taliban offensive was expected, but their resilience is sometimes “surprising”.

“Some enemy fighters absolutely refuse to surrender and we have only one choice and that is to kill them,” Collins said. “No matter how hard the enemy fight, they are being decisively defeated in every engagement.”

NATO, which is increasing its force in Afghanistan from 9,700 to 16,000, is poised to take over the command of the country’s insurgency-wracked south by the end of July. The alliance already has a presence in the capital, Kabul, and in the west and north.

The NATO troops, mostly British, Canadian and Dutch, are deploying there and working with US troops as part of an anti-terror campaign that has met stiff resistance from Taliban militants.

A senior British army commander acknowledged Friday that Taliban posed a severe threat to NATO troops but would be beaten, despite significant shortfalls in logistical support.

Lt. Gen. David Richards, the commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, told a London think tank that the force lacked sufficient helicopters and reserve troops for rapid deployment.

Richards said the financing and logistical backup for the mission might not “keep up” with the requirements of NATO operations in Afghanistan.

“This will, undoubtedly, jeopardise success,” he said. “We are not unable to operate, but we could do it more efficiently,” he said.

Brigadier Ed Butler, the commander of Britain’s 5,000-strong contribution of troops to the NATO mission, said the level of Taliban resistance and “ferocity” to NATO forces had surprised him.

“But hopefully it will not be too long before the tide does turn,” Butler said.

NATO’s troop strength nationwide should reach about 18,000 by September.

The US has at least 21,000 troops in Afghanistan, and many of them will be incorporated into the NATO force. However, the US will maintain a combat force independent of NATO to hunt down Taliban and al-Qaida militants.

Also Saturday, coalition forces transferred an accused militant leader detained last week to Afghan authorities, the US military said.

Amir Gul Hassanyar was arrested July 16 in northern Kunduz province and allegedly carried out numerous roadside bombings and trafficked in weapons and drugs, a military statement said.

Gul was handed over to Afghan national security officials at Kabul International Airport, the statement said.