Nearly 40 Taliban Believed Killed in Afghanistan

Nearly 40 Taliban Killed in Afghanistan/140 Military Operations in Iraq

Tuesday June 13, 04:23 AM
Nearly 40 Taliban believed killed in Afghanistan​

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Major strikes by Afghan and coalition troops killed up to 37 Taliban fighters, including a man believed to be related to the movement's leader, the military said.

Two Afghan civilians were also killed and nine others including two children were wounded in a bomb attack Monday in southeastern Paktia province in an attack that bore the hallmarks of Taliban insurgents.

Fifteen of the militants were killed when Afghan security forces backed by the US-led coalition attacked their hideout in the southern province of Uruzgan on Sunday, General Rahmatullah Raufi said.

The dead included a man "most likely" to be a brother-in-law of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, Raufi said.

"Among the dead whose bodies were left on the battlefield there is one guy called Amanullah who is most likely to be Mullah Omar's brother-in-law and was in charge of the Taliban's finances in the province," he said.

Items found in the man's pockets and statements from villagers indicated that he was Omar's brother-in-law, Raufi said.

Twelve other Taliban were killed the same day in neighbouring Kandahar province when coalition warplanes bombed a building in which militants were taking refuge, Raufi said.

Ten Taliban were also believed to have been killed in a separate battle Sunday in Helmand province's Sangin district, Raufi said.

"We believe that 10 Taliban might have been killed but their bodies were not seen," he said. Taliban sometimes take the bodies of their fallen comrades with them after battle.

- more at http://tinyurl.com/lte6o

 

140 Military Operations Since Zarqawi's Death

Children among dead in U.S.-led Iraq raid ​

By Ryan Lenz, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jun 12, 1:33 PM ET ​

U.S.-led forces raided a house Monday near a volatile city northeast of Baghdad, killing nine people, including two children, the military said. Insurgent attacks around Iraq, meanwhile, killed at least 20 people, including nine in the capital.

The raid in Baqouba was staged in the area where terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in an airstrike Wednesday, and the military said the targeted terrorists had ties to senior al-Qaida leaders across Iraq and were involved in helping foreign fighters.

Residents accused the Americans of targeting civilians, and a man wearing a white dishdasha held up the body of a toddler. The Iraqis screamed "Allahu akbar" or "God is great" as they loaded two wooden coffins onto pickup trucks in the city 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

AP Television News video also showed burned-out vehicles and a devastated house with a large hole in the roof.

The military said coalition forces received enemy machine-gun fire from a rooftop and two people with AK-47s had been seen fleeing the area just before the assault.

"Coalition aircraft supporting the ground force immediately suppressed the enemy fire, killing seven," the military said. "Following the assault, coalition troops discovered two children had been killed. One child was wounded and evacuated for treatment."

It also said three suspects were wounded and detained in the raid.

Coalition forces seized a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, five rockets, nine AK-47 assault rifles and 20 loaded ammunition magazines.

Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said 140 military operations were carried out since al-Zarqawi's death, and 32 insurgents were killed and 178 detained. Caldwell, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Baghdad, said 11 raids were directly connected to a "treasure trove" of intelligence gleaned from raids since al-Zarqawi's death.

- rest at http://tinyurl.com/mgg62