At least 19 suspected Taleban militants have been killed in clashes in southern Afghanistan, officials say. A Helmand province government spokesman said Taleban fighters attacked the village of Nawzad, targeting a garrison of Afghan and coalition troops. Shopkeepers were surrounded and ordered to leave the centre of the village before the attack began, reports said.
Coalition forces launched air strikes, with reports saying 12 Taleban died in a car, with others killed elsewhere. The fighting, which lasted several hours, broke out on Wednesday morning, US military officials said. "The Taleban surrounded this area, including a nearby bazaar, and told all their shopkeepers to leave before attacking the compound with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades," Afghan spokesman Ghulam Muhiddin told the Associated Press news agency. | Well, that was nice of them. |
Seven attackers were killed and two injured in the initial fighting, with another 12 killed when coalition forces bombed a Taleban vehicle trying to leave the area, the officials said. |