Afghan, coalition troops kill 45 insurgents

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Afghan, coalition troops kill 45 insurgents Updated Sat. Jun. 17 2006 10:50 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Afghan and coalition forces have killed 45 suspected insurgents in southern Afghanistan, just three days into a major offensive into Taliban strongholds.

On Friday, Afghan and coalition forces surrounded a camp known to be occupied by Taliban forces in Khod Valley in the Shaheed Hasas district of Uruzgan province.

About 40 enemy fighters were killed in the fighting that ensued, according to a U.S. military statement issued on Saturday.

Forces waited until insurgents had gathered at the camp before they attacked.

"Coalition forces tracked the development of this meeting until there were more than 50 extremists gathered before attacking the compound," said military spokesman Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, according to The Associated Press.

"The compound was severely damaged, and we anticipate most of those present were killed."

According to the military, the dead included militant rebel leaders responsible for carrying out attacks against civilians and the military, financiers as well as members of a group responsible for attacks using improvised explosive devices.

"Coalition forces have delivered a quick and severe blow to the enemy today," Fitzpatrick said.

In another aspect of the operation, soldiers carried out a raid on a Taliban compound near Tarin Kowt, the capital of Uruzgan province.

Coalition and Afghan soldiers killed five insurgents, and seized about four kilograms of opium in that raid, according to the military.

One U.S. soldier was wounded in the skirmish, but was later said to be in fair condition.

Two other coalition soldiers were killed Friday when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in Asadabad district in eastern Kunar province.

And seven insurgents were killed during an overnight gun battle with police in the Mianshin district of Kandahar, the Interior Ministry said Saturday. One policeman was killed and another injured during the clash.

The coalition offensive, dubbed "Operation Mountain Thrust," is part of a major push to squeeze Taliban fighters responsible for a spate of ambushes and suicide attacks against coalition forces and Afghan authorities in recent months.

It began in mid-May, but Thursday marked the beginning of the main phase of the offensive.

The massive force of 10,000 Afghan forces and coalition soldiers marks the largest deployment yet for a single mission in Afghanistan.

The operation involves 3,300 Britons, 2,200 Canadians, 2,300 U.S. conventional and special forces, and 3,500 Afghans.

The operation is timed to coincide with the upcoming transfer this summer of command in the south from the U.S.-led coalition to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

"There is no scheduled end date to Mountain Thrust. The Coalition will continue operations well into the summer and until objectives are met," a U.S. military statement said.

The offensive is focused on southern Uruzgan and northeastern Helmand provinces, where the U.S. military says most of the militant forces have gathered.

Operations also will be conducted in the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar and Zabul.

"The whole objective is to push Taliban insurgents out of the safe havens that they have been enjoying for several years now," CTV's Steve Chao told Newsnet, reporting from Kandahar.

"The Taliban developed quarters up in the rural areas in the mountains. The whole goal of this is to get the coalition troops up into these mountains to push them out."