Afghan, NATO kill 10 Taliban fighters: Police

Kabul, Feb 10: Afghan and NATO forces killed 10 Taliban fighters today in southern Helmand province, bordering Pakistan, police said.

No further details were immediately available. The area where the encounter occurred, Sangin, has in the past seen fierce fighting between British troops and the Taliban.

Last week, the Taliban over-ran the town of Musa Qala in the province, breaking a much-vaunted but much-criticised truce deal in what some analysts say could herald the start of a major Taliban spring offensive.

Last year was the bloodiest since US-led forces toppled the Taliban's hardline Islamist government in 2001 and many expect this year to be worse.

Most of the fighting is in the Taliban's southern and eastern heartland, bordering Pakistan.

NATO is boosting its troop levels through the United States, Britain and Poland and is asking other allies to lift their troop levels.

Reuters