Coalition pounds Taliban in Helmand

Coalition forces killed several Taliban fighters and detained eight others during raids in southern Afghanistan, where a Canadian soldier also died in a roadside blast.

The troops were targeting a Taliban commander in Garmser district of Helmand province.

“Several insurgents were killed when they fired on coalition forces,” a coalition statement said.

Troops detained another four suspected militants in the Qalat district of Zabul province.

The Canadian soldier was killed by a roadside bomb west of Kandahar city.