dennisw
04-29-2009, 09:37
Wed Apr 29, 8:14 am ET
KABUL (AFP) – US-led troops battled militants in Afghanistan on Wednesday and announced they killed 42 suspected insurgents, while a Taliban suicide bomber wounded four German soldiers.
The clashes came as a Taliban commander threatened a new campaign of suicide bombings and attacks in response to an imminent surge of 21,000 US troops under a sweeping new strategy rolled out by Washington to stabilise the country.
The deadliest battle was in the southern province of Uruzgan where the US military said nearly two dozen militants were killed after ambushing a patrol of coalition troops and police.
"Afghan and coalition forces returned fire and called for close-air support, killing 23 militants," it said in a statement.
Nine more were killed in the adjoining province of Helmand in fighting that erupted when troops "positively identified armed militants preparing an attack from inside a wooded area," the same statement said.
Security forces also found nearly 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds) of opium and 2,400 kilogrammes of ammonium nitrate used to produce explosives, it said.
Volatile Helmand is Afghanistan's main opium production belt, the largest in the world and which officials say bankrolls insurgent activity.
The US military said 10 insurgents were killed in a battle with troops under US command southwest of Kabul in the strategic province of Logar -- the site of a multi-billion-dollar Chinese project to develop a copper mine.
The fighting erupted as a patrol of Afghan and US-led troops moved into an area where intelligence indicated Taliban operatives were gathered, it said.
The death tolls could not be independently verified.
There are around 38,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan in a foreign deployment of roughly 70,000 -- with Britain and Germany the other top contributors.
Four German troops were wounded Wednesday in a suicide car bomb attack targeting a German convoy in the northern province of Kunduz, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ludger Terbrueggen told AFP.
The attack, claimed by the Taliban, came as German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Afghan President Hamid Karzai discussed boosting troop numbers to secure an August election, the presidency announced.
Concerned about escalating violence in Afghanistan and widening Taliban control in nuclear-armed Pakistan, the United States and other countries, including Australia and Germany, have pledged more soldiers for Afghanistan.
Germany has 3,500 soldiers in Afghanistan and its contribution to NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is the third-largest behind those of the United States and Britain.
The German parliament voted last year to increase its deployment to 4,500.
Britain's defence ministry announced overnight that one of its soldiers was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol in Helmand.
On Wednesday, the Taliban threatened new suicide attacks in response to the imminent arrival of thousands of extra Western troops.
"Operation Nasrat" (Victory) would be launched on Thursday, and would also target Afghan officials and international diplomats, claimed Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who read out a statement to AFP over the telephone.
Mujahid said the communique was signed by Mullah Boradar, alleged deputy to the fugitive one-eyed Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, and believed to be hiding in southern Afghanistan or across the border in Pakistan.
"Now that America and NATO intend to send more troops to Afghanistan, the Afghans also feel the need for a more speedy and strong operation to defend themselves and the freedom of their country," it said.
"Our targets will be the units of the invading forces, diplomatic stations, convoys, ranking officials of the puppet government, MPs, and employees of the defence, interior and intelligence ministries," it said.
The Taliban have previously issued warnings of new operations but military officials dismiss the significance of such threats.
KABUL (AFP) – US-led troops battled militants in Afghanistan on Wednesday and announced they killed 42 suspected insurgents, while a Taliban suicide bomber wounded four German soldiers.
The clashes came as a Taliban commander threatened a new campaign of suicide bombings and attacks in response to an imminent surge of 21,000 US troops under a sweeping new strategy rolled out by Washington to stabilise the country.
The deadliest battle was in the southern province of Uruzgan where the US military said nearly two dozen militants were killed after ambushing a patrol of coalition troops and police.
"Afghan and coalition forces returned fire and called for close-air support, killing 23 militants," it said in a statement.
Nine more were killed in the adjoining province of Helmand in fighting that erupted when troops "positively identified armed militants preparing an attack from inside a wooded area," the same statement said.
Security forces also found nearly 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds) of opium and 2,400 kilogrammes of ammonium nitrate used to produce explosives, it said.
Volatile Helmand is Afghanistan's main opium production belt, the largest in the world and which officials say bankrolls insurgent activity.
The US military said 10 insurgents were killed in a battle with troops under US command southwest of Kabul in the strategic province of Logar -- the site of a multi-billion-dollar Chinese project to develop a copper mine.
The fighting erupted as a patrol of Afghan and US-led troops moved into an area where intelligence indicated Taliban operatives were gathered, it said.
The death tolls could not be independently verified.
There are around 38,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan in a foreign deployment of roughly 70,000 -- with Britain and Germany the other top contributors.
Four German troops were wounded Wednesday in a suicide car bomb attack targeting a German convoy in the northern province of Kunduz, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ludger Terbrueggen told AFP.
The attack, claimed by the Taliban, came as German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Afghan President Hamid Karzai discussed boosting troop numbers to secure an August election, the presidency announced.
Concerned about escalating violence in Afghanistan and widening Taliban control in nuclear-armed Pakistan, the United States and other countries, including Australia and Germany, have pledged more soldiers for Afghanistan.
Germany has 3,500 soldiers in Afghanistan and its contribution to NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is the third-largest behind those of the United States and Britain.
The German parliament voted last year to increase its deployment to 4,500.
Britain's defence ministry announced overnight that one of its soldiers was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol in Helmand.
On Wednesday, the Taliban threatened new suicide attacks in response to the imminent arrival of thousands of extra Western troops.
"Operation Nasrat" (Victory) would be launched on Thursday, and would also target Afghan officials and international diplomats, claimed Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who read out a statement to AFP over the telephone.
Mujahid said the communique was signed by Mullah Boradar, alleged deputy to the fugitive one-eyed Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, and believed to be hiding in southern Afghanistan or across the border in Pakistan.
"Now that America and NATO intend to send more troops to Afghanistan, the Afghans also feel the need for a more speedy and strong operation to defend themselves and the freedom of their country," it said.
"Our targets will be the units of the invading forces, diplomatic stations, convoys, ranking officials of the puppet government, MPs, and employees of the defence, interior and intelligence ministries," it said.
The Taliban have previously issued warnings of new operations but military officials dismiss the significance of such threats.