Three 'key Taliban leaders' among 55 killed by coalition forces in Afghanistan

Washington, June 24 : The US military has claimed to have killed 55 Taliban, including three key leaders, during a three-day operation which began on June 20.

A statement issued by the coalition forces said the operations began when coalition forces were ambushed in the eastern province of Paktika. The coalition repulsed that attack with small-arms fire, and then pursued the militants over the next two days, backed by air strikes, the military said. In the firing at least 25 militants were wounded and three were captured, it said.

The Pentagon said that on June 21 the US-ld coalition forces conducted precision air strikes in Afghanistan's Khost province, targeting a Taliban commander involved with improvised explosive devices, foreign-fighter operations and weapons smuggling.

The strikes were called when group of several militants were observed moving through a mountainous area in the Spera district. Intelligence reports indicated that a senior militant commander was present within the group, the Dawn quoted the Pentagon as saying.

Earlier, On June 20, several militants were killed and three others were detained during a coalition forces operation in the Kapisa province. During a search of several compounds in the Tagab district, armed militants attacked the coalition forces, who responded with small-arms fire, killing the militants. Several AK-47 rifles, vests and ammunition were discovered during the search.

The weekend's operations follow a sweep by NATO and Afghan forces north of Kandahar that they say cleared the region of Taliban freedom fighters.

ANI