Fourteen foreign troops wounded in Afghan ambush

KABUL, Oct 15 (Reuters) Fourteen troops from the NATO-led force in Afghanistan were wounded in a Taliban ambush southwest of the capital Kabul, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said today.

The troops came under fire during a patrol in the province of Wardak, immediately southwest of Kabul, yesterday. The troops called in air support, but there was no word on Taliban casualties and no reports that any civilians had been hurt in the fighting, the spokesman said.

Turkish troops make up most of the ISAF contingent in Wardak, which has seen escalating violence in the last year as Taliban militants have spread their influence northwards from their traditional strongholds of support in the south.

REUTERS SKB PM1820