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US: Troops kill 32 insurgents in east Afghanistan
[January 07, 2009]
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)
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The firefight broke out Tuesday during a strike on a Taliban bomb-making cell in Laghman Province, the military said in a statement.
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As many as 75 armed militants converged on the troops, shooting at them from rooftops and alleyways, the statement said. The 32 insurgents were killed when coalition troops returned fire. The troops also destroyed two caches of weapons and roadside bomb-making materials that were too unstable to move to another location, the statement said. Local residents reported that some civilians died when buildings collapsed as the cache was destroyed, said Abdul Khaliq Hussiani, a parliamentarian representing Laghman. At least 22 bodies have been recovered, including women and children, he said. But the military statement said troops moved civilians to a safe location before detonating the weapons. Spokesman Col. Jerry O'Hara said in the statement that the forces "prevented any civilian casualties." The U.S. statement said one of the militants killed was a woman. The incident happened in Alishang district, about 100 kilometers northeast of the capital of Kabul. In western Farah province Wednesday, Afghan army and coalition troops killed six militants in raid on a compound, the U.S. military said in a separate statement. Among those killed in the two-hour shootout were a man who conducted attacks on Afghan and coalition forces, and another who provided bomb-making materials to insurgents, the statement said. There were no civilian casualties reported, the military said. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said 12 insurgents and 11 civilians were killed in fighting Sunday and Monday in central Uruzgan province. Police had previously reported eight civilian deaths. |
