Afghan raid kills three al Qaeda suspects

KABUL, Aug 11 (Reuters) US led and Afghan forces killed three suspected al Qaeda fighters and arrested three more in a raid today, the US military said in a statement.

The raid was aimed at an al Qaeda operative linked to a series of roadside and car bombings in the eastern province of Khost, bordering Pakistan.

''Upon arrival, the assault force received small arms fire from the targeted building,'' the statement said.

''The ground force returned fire, killing the three terrorists.

The other three were detained on site without incident.'' Weapons, ammunition and other ordnance were destroyed at the site, near the village of Ya'Qubi. There were no casualties among the raiding party.

The latest operation comes less than two weeks after four other al Qaeda suspects were arrested in a similar raid in Khost.

Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since US led forces toppled the hardline Islamist Taliban government, allied to al Qaeda, in 2001.

The bloodshed is particularly bad in the Taliban's southern heartland, where it has regrouped and is staging a series of coordinated attacks and bombings against Afghan and NATO troops.

The fighting there has increased as NATO built up its presence ahead of taking over the region from US forces on July 31.

But the reasons behind the violence around the country can be murky, often mixing opposition to the foreign presence with tribal rivalries, crime and the drugs trade in the world's leading heroin producer.

In the northern province of Faryab, NATO and Afghan forces have launched an operation expected to last several days to quell fighting between forces loyal to two rival warlords.

''There can be no doubt that the Afghan authorities will not accept factional difficulties,'' NATO said in a statement.

REUTERS KR RK1340