US-led forces kill 70 more Taliban rebels

KABUL, June 24 (Reuters) US-led forces killed around 70 Taliban rebels during clashes in southern Afghanistan, the US military said today, raising the number of insurgents killed to 100 over the past three days.

Afghanistan is suffering its worst spell of violence since US-led forces toppled the Taliban in 2001. It comes ahead of NATO troops taking over military control in the violent south from the United States.

Last week the U.S.-led coalition announced a major offensive, codenamed ''Operation Mountain Thrust'', to push deep into the Taliban's southern heartland.

A clash erupted yesterday after about 40 Taliban fighters attacked coalition forces in the Tarin Kot district of the southern province of Uruzgan.

''They all were killed,'' Soldier Chris Miller, a spokesman for the coalition forces, told Reuters of the Taliban casualties.

In another incident, coalition and Afghan forces attacked ''a large group of extremists'' in the Zharie district of neighbouring Kandahar province, killing 25 rebels in a battle that lasted three hours, a US military statement said.

Four more rebels were killed in a firefight with a coalition patrol in Kandahar yesterday night, Major Quentin Innes, a coalition spokesman, said.

The Taliban were not immediately available for comment, but have rejected reports of big losses in recent weeks.

The US military said coalition troops had killed about 31 Taliban insurgents in the south on Wednesday and Thursday.

The rebels have stepped up attacks this year in their southern and eastern heartland where they enjoy considerable support from locals.

Local politicians have recently voiced concern over the deteriorating security situation in the south despite the presence of foreign forces, saying rebels are expanding their influence in several parts of the region.

More than 1,000 people, including more than 40 foreign soldiers, have died this year. Around 400 were killed in May alone.

REUTERS SHB VC1628