Afghan clashes kill 165 Taliban

KABUL – Two battles killed more than 165 suspected Taliban fighters and one US-led coalition soldier in southern Afghanistan as President Hamid Karzai prepared to discuss his country’s escalating violence with US President George W Bush in New York.

An ongoing clash began early on Tuesday when several dozen insurgents attacked a joint coalition-Afghan patrol with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades near the Taliban-controlled town of Musa Qala in Helmand province, with Taliban reinforcements flowing in all day, a coalition statement said. The coalition returned artillery fire and called in fighter aircraft, killing more than 100 of the Taliban fighters, the coalition said.One coalition soldier was killed and four wounded.The coalition said there were no immediate reports of civilian deaths or injuries.Taliban militants overran Musa Qala in February, four months after British troops left the town following a contentious peace agreement that handed over security responsibilities to Afghan elders.Musa Qala has been in the control of Taliban fighters ever since.Situated in northern Helmand province, Musa Qala and the region around it have seen the heaviest fighting in Afghanistan this year.It also is in the middle of the country’s poppy-growing belt.In neighbouring Uruzgan province, more than 80 Taliban fighters attacked a joint Afghan and coalition patrol from multiple bunkers near the village of Kakrak during a six-hour battle Tuesday night, the coalition said.The ground force commander requested coalition artillery and air support, which bombarded “Taliban positions, killing more than 65 insurgents,” it said.Three civilians were wounded in the crossfire and evacuated to a military medical facility nearby, it said.No Afghan or coalition forces were hurt.The battle took place near an area where more than three dozen insurgents were killed as they prepared an ambush six days ago, the coalition said.It was not possible to independently verify the reports.The large clashes come as Karzai prepared to meet with Bush yesterday in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.Bush is seeking assurances that Karzai is dealing with Afghanistan’s soaring drug trade and security problems.Nampa-APThe coalition returned artillery fire and called in fighter aircraft, killing more than 100 of the Taliban fighters, the coalition said.One coalition soldier was killed and four wounded.The coalition said there were no immediate reports of civilian deaths or injuries.Taliban militants overran Musa Qala in February, four months after British troops left the town following a contentious peace agreement that handed over security responsibilities to Afghan elders.Musa Qala has been in the control of Taliban fighters ever since.Situated in northern Helmand province, Musa Qala and the region around it have seen the heaviest fighting in Afghanistan this year.It also is in the middle of the country’s poppy-growing belt.In neighbouring Uruzgan province, more than 80 Taliban fighters attacked a joint Afghan and coalition patrol from multiple bunkers near the village of Kakrak during a six-hour battle Tuesday night, the coalition said.The ground force commander requested coalition artillery and air support, which bombarded “Taliban positions, killing more than 65 insurgents,” it said.Three civilians were wounded in the crossfire and evacuated to a military medical facility nearby, it said.No Afghan or coalition forces were hurt.The battle took place near an area where more than three dozen insurgents were killed as they prepared an ambush six days ago, the coalition said.It was not possible to independently verify the reports.The large clashes come as Karzai prepared to meet with Bush yesterday in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.Bush is seeking assurances that Karzai is dealing with Afghanistan’s soaring drug trade and security problems.Nampa-AP