21 suspected militants killed in Afghanistan

US-led and Afghan troops raided three compounds in eastern Afghanistan today, killing four suspected militants and detaining 16 others, while other clashes and airstrikes in the south left 17 more militants dead.

The raid in the eastern Nangarhar province targeted compounds suspected “of harbouring Taliban and foreign fighters,” the coalition said.

“On Thursday, a suicide car bomber exploded near a Nato International Security Assistance Force convoy in Paktika province, killing one Afghan civilian and wounding six other people, including two ISAF soldiers, a Nato statement said.

Those injured were transported to a military medical facility for treatment.

In neighbouring Zabul province’s Mizan district, Taliban fighters ambushed a joint Nato and Afghan patrol and in the ensuing clash two militants were killed and five others were wounded, said Mohammad Younus Akhunzada, a district chief.

On Wednesday, a series of clashes and airstrikes in southern Afghanistan left 15 suspected militants dead, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

Eight militants died in Fighting in Helmand province’s Gereshk district, and seven more were killed in an airstrike in Tirin Kot in Uruzgan province.