Oct 12, 2008, 14:55 GMT
Kabul - More than 100 Taliban insurgents were killed in two separate operations using NATO air power in the southern province of Helmand, a government spokesman said Sunday.
At least 62 Taliban militants, including foreign fighters, were killed when rebels attacked police posts close to the provincial capital Lashkargah early Sunday, a spokesman for the governor told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
The ground forces responded and NATO aircraft also bombed the militant positions, said the spokesman, adding that a Taliban commander, Mullah Qadratullah of neighbouring Kandahar province, was among the dead militants.
'There are also reports that several foreign fighters were among the 62 dead militants, but so far we don't have their exact number,' he said, saying his information was based on intelligence reports.
Another 40 militants were killed in a three-day-operation in Nad Ali, another district of the same Helmand province, the spokesman said, adding that no Afghan or NATO soldiers were killed in the operations.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) also confirmed that militants had planned to conduct a 'major' attack against Afghan military posts in Lashkargah city.
'Insurgents were seen gathering on the outskirts of the town, prior to launching a mortar attack,' a military statement said. 'During this counterattack, ISAF forces successfully conducted an air strike in which multiple enemy forces were killed.'
'If the insurgents planned a spectacular attack prior to the winter, this was a spectacular failure,' ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Richard Blanchette said.
Due to the remoteness of the area, it was difficult to verify the claimed death toll independently.
Helmand belongs to the main hotbed for Taliban militants, along with the neighbouring provinces of Kandahar, Zabul and Uruzganare. Around 8,000 NATO-led British troops are stationed in Helmand region.
Helmand province has witnessed fierce battles between the insurgents and Afghan and British forces since the start of spring this year. Provincial governor Gulab Mangal recently said hundreds of foreign fighters were also supporting the insurgency in the province.
Separately, three police officers and an intelligence agent were wounded when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in Chardara district of northern Kunduz province on Sunday, Abdul Rahman Aaqtash, deputy provincial police chief said.
He blamed Taliban militants for the blast. Militants are the most entrenched in Chardara district, where German forces stationed in the province also came under attacks in the same region in the past.
Around 3,500 NATO-led German soldiers are stationed in the northern region that includes Kunduz province. The soldiers are part of a force of more than 50,000 NATO-led troops that was deployed to the country from 40 nations following the fall of Taliban regime.
More than 4,000 people - mostly insurgents - have been killed in Afghanistan conflicts so far this year, according to figures provided by Afghan and international military sources.
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