WORLD> Middle East
Coalition operations kill, detain Taliban militants
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-11 14:09

KABUL -- The US-led Coalition forces in two separate operations targeting Taliban militants and Haqqani network in Afghanistan killed several militants and detained three suspected militants on Wednesday, said a Coalition statement released here on Thursday.

Coalition forces targeted a regional terrorist leader who is suspected of have close ties to senior Taliban commanders and facilitating the movement of foreign fighters in Andar district of central Afghanistan's Ghazni province, the statement said.  

"When forces arrived, several men attempted to engage the force, " it said. "Coalition forces responded with small-arms fire, killing the militants."

Two suspected militants were also arrested during the operation, it said.

In another incident in Khowst province of eastern Afghanistan, Coalition forces detained one suspected militant while conducting operations to disrupt the Haqqani network.  

Coalition forces, according to the statement, targeting a Haqqani subcommander who coordinates and facilitates IED ( Improvised Explosive Device) attacks in the area, searched a compound in Bak district, said the statement.

Multiple AK-47s and other military equipment were also found and removed to prevent future use, it said.

Taliban insurgents who staged a violent comeback three years ago have intensified their activities targeting Afghan and international troops across Afghanistan to mount pressure on the government despite around 70,000 foreign troops stationed in the war-torn country.

Conflicts and spiraling insurgency have claimed the lives of over 3,700 people with more than 800 civilians, so far this year.