Friday, July 06, 2007

Coalition Forces Kill Scores of Taliban Fighters, Detain Five

American Forces Press Service

July 6, 2007 – Afghan and coalition forces killed scores of Taliban insurgents and detained five others in Afghanistan over the past two days, military officials said. During an operation today in the Andar district of Ghazni province, coalition forces detained five militants. Credible intelligence led the forces to two compounds where militant activity was allegedly occurring,
military officials said. Troops found AK-47 assault rifles, combat vests and grenades while searching the compounds. They confiscated these items and destroyed the weapons a safe distance away.

"Coalition forces will continue to root out militants whose activities threaten the peace and stability of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan," said
Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman.

The detainees are being held for questioning, officials said. No civilians were injured in the operation.

Afghan national security forces and coalition advisors killed a significant number of insurgents during an overnight battle that began after Taliban fighters attempted to ambush a vehicle checkpoint near Cahar Cineh, in Uruzgan province.

Taliban forces attacked two Afghan National
Police vehicles with small arms, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Combined forces retaliated from a nearby firebase, repelling the enemy with small arms, artillery and close-air support in the sparsely populated area of southern Afghanistan, military officials said.

No Afghan or coalition forces were wounded in the engagement. There are no indications that civilian casualties resulted from the fighting, U.S. officials said.

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)

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