Insurgents from Pakistan attack Afghan district (2nd Roundup)

South Asia News

Jul 16, 2008, 14:10 GMT

Kabul - The Afghan National Army (ANA), Afghan border police and US special forces killed more than 150 fighters in a military operation Tuesday night, a provincial spokesman said Wednesday. 'Last night, more than 350 fighters, most of them Pakistanis, entered Afghanistan from Pakistan, and attacked in the Barmal district of south-eastern Paktika province,' Ghamai Khan Mohammed Yari told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in a telephone interview. He said the ANA and border police, aided by a coalition airstrike, 'counter-attacked the militants and after one hour's fighting, more than 150 insurgents were killed, most of them Pakistani nationals.' 'A driver with a truck full of explosive materials also was arrested in Angoor Adah area of Barmal district by Afghan forces. The driver was from Multan area of Pakistan,' Yari added. A press release issued from ISAF headquarter in Kabul said that the NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) responded to an attack from militants Pakistan's Paktika province. 'ISAF's Task Force Currahee in Paktika province received multiple rocket attacks from militants inside Pakistan July 15,' the press release said. ISAF troops identified the point of origin of the rocket attacks 'and responded in self defence with a combination of fire from attack helicopters and artillery into Pakistan,' it added. The NATO-led ISAF press release did not mention anything about casualties in the military operation. ISAF meanwhile abandoned a remote outpost days after militants forced their way inside and killed nine US soldiers, the military said Wednesday. The ISAF and Afghan forces would still maintain a strong presence in the area and would continue regular patrols around the nearby village of Wanat in the north-eastern province of Kunar, a NATO statement said. The militants used Wanat to launch Sunday's attack. In a related development, ISAF forces also said they had killed a Taliban field commander in Kandahar province during an airstrike. '(Mullah) Mahmoud is reported to have commanded more than 250 Taliban fighters and was responsible for many insurgent operations in Kandahar province,' an ISAF statement said. The statement said intelligence had shown several insurgent commanders meeting to regroup their forces and plan further attacks against the Arghandab district and Kandahar city. 'Afghan forces established observation of the area and called in an airstrike using ISAF aircraft,' the statement said. 'Our troops have the initiative in Kandahar province,' Brigadier- General Denis Thompson, Commander of Task Force Kandahar, said. In other developments, an ISAF soldier died of non-combat related causes in Parvan province on Wednesday, ISAF officials said. The nationality of the soldier was not given. 'This incident is currently under investigation,' a statement said.

View blog reactions

If you liked this story please support M&C and Buzz the site on Yahoo.

Latest Headlines in South Asia

Talkback

Add your comment (no registration required)

page: 1

WMDs IN IRAQJul 16th, 2008 - 23:24:14

WMDs in Iraq, isn't it? Invade Iraq! Invade Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden is there wasn't he? He ran away to Pakistan! isn't it? Next will be Syria, Sudan, Iran and all other weaklings! Isn't it?

Report this comment

page: 1

Add your comment (no registration required)

Latest from M&C Blogs

Second presidential debate; no 'gamechanger' ? - Global Eye on October 8, 2008 5:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Debate: did McCain do enough? - Global Eye on September 29, 2008 6:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBacks (1)

Should Sen. John McCain's health records be made public? - Global Eye on September 15, 2008 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (50) | TrackBacks (0)

Raindance Film Festival - Estomago - London Calling on October 8, 2008 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Raindance Film Festival : It's Hard To Be Nice - London Calling on October 8, 2008 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

London Film Festival - Dean Spanley - London Calling on October 6, 2008 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport - The World in Pictures on October 2, 2008 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Devotee to Chinese Shrine of Sapam has face pierced - The World in Pictures on October 2, 2008 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Indian Muslims offer prayers on the occasion of Eid-al-Fitr - The World in Pictures on October 2, 2008 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

South Asia

Insurgents from Pakistan attack Afghan district (2nd Roundup)

South Asia News

Latest Headlines in South Asia

Talkback

Latest from M&C Blogs

Similar articles

In Monsters and Critics

Corporate

The Fine Print