Kunduz, January 03: Afghan and NATO forces have killed 18 militants in the northern province of Kunduz, where Taliban rebels are expanding their activities, an Afghan army officer said today.
The militants were killed yesterday after trying to ambush a patrol of Afghan forces and troops from NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the Archi district of the province, said Colonel Abdul Wakeel Ihsas.
After the attempted ambush, a gun battle began and air support was called in, he told reporters.
“Eighteen Taliban were killed. Nineteen were wounded,” he said. The dead included five rebel commanders and four foreign militants linked to Al-Qaeda, he added.
There was no immediate comment from ISAF.
Afghanistan’s Taliban-led insurgency has lasted more than eight years, since the Islamists were ousted in a US-led invasion in late 2001.
–Agencies