Twenty-four Taliban killed in Afghanistan battle

A gun battle and airstrikes killed an estimated 24 Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said today.

Taliban fighters attacked Afghan and coalition troops with rockets and gunfire yesterday in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province, sparking a four-hour battle.

Fighter aircraft bombed three enemy positions, a coalition statement said.

It said “an estimated two dozen enemy fighters” were killed during the battle, but gave no further details on the casualty toll.

Roadside bombs, meanwhile, killed two Afghan soldiers and wounded five others in two incidents in southern Afghanistan yesterday, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

Also yesterday, a roadside bomb injured two soldiers in the eastern province of Khost, said Wazir Pacha, spokesman for the provincial police chief.

Nato’s International Security Assistance Force said that it knew ISAF troops were involved in that incident, but had no further details.