Troops kill 60 rebels in Afghanistan

Sat May 23, 2009, 4:15 am ET

KABUL (AFP) –

NATO Troops killed 60 (alleged Taliban fighters) in southern Afghanistan, the US military said Saturday.

The operation in the southern province of Helmand ended overnight when troops used air strikes, it said in a statement.

Afghan and US-led coalition troops had moved into the Marja area, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Helmand province capital Lashkar Gah, on Tuesday.

"A total of 60 (Taliban fighters) were eliminated as they mounted an ineffective and uncoordinated defence against friendly forces," the US military said in its final tally. The previous toll was 47 (alleged Taliban fighters) killed by Friday.

Troops had moved all "friendly elements" from a bazaar in the area at midnight Friday, it said.

"With the area cordoned off, precision air strikes destroyed the narcotics, bomb-making materials, weapons and munitions discovered during the operation," it said.

Helmand, where thousands of British troops are based for a NATO-led military force helping Afghanistan, is the main producer of Afghan opium, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the world's supply.

The vast province is also a stronghold for the Taliban, who were in government between 1996 and 2001 and waging an Al-Qaeda-linked insurgency.

NATO soldier killed in Afghanistan: alliance

Sat May 23, 2009, 1:56 am ET

KABUL (AFP) –

A soldier in a NATO-led force was killed in an attack in the volatile south, the alliance said Saturday.

"An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldier was killed as a result of a direct fire attack in southern Afghanistan yesterday (Friday)," it said in a statement that gave no further details.

Most of the soldiers in the south are American, British or Canadian.

Southern Afghanistan sees the most fighting between security forces and Taliban fighters.

The area is the focus of a surge of 17,000 US soldiers pledged by US President Barack Obama.

Friday's death takes to 107 the number of international soldiers to lose their lives in Afghanistan this year, most of them in attacks, according to a toll maintained by the icasualties.org website.

The previous fatality was a 25-year-old US woman killed in a bomb strike north of Kabul on Wednesday.

An ISAF plane made an emergency landing in the southern province of Uruzgan on Friday because of mechanical problems but the force has not said if there were any casualties from the incident.