Kandahar, Afghanistan – Two hundred Afghan police, supported by U.S.-led coalition forces, killed 13 suspected Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan following a spate of guerrilla-style strikes in the area over the weekend, an Afghan official said Monday.
Meanwhile, a C-130 U.S. military plane carrying U.S. Ambassador Ronald Neumann suffered an engine failure as he returned from a trip to see preparations for the upcoming Sept. 18 elections. The failure was blamed on an oil leak. Emergency crews were on hand when the plane landed safely in Kabul using its remaining three engines.
Coalition and government forces suffered no casualties in the fighting Sunday night during an ongoing military operation to flush out insurgents from mountains in southern Kandahar province, said Kandahar Gov. Asadullah Khalid.
“We have the dead bodies” of Taliban fighters, Khalid said. He said 44 other suspects were arrested and assault rifles and ammunition were confiscated.
U.S. military spokesman Col. James Yonts confirmed that more than 40 suspected insurgents had been detained. He said some may be released after questioning.
He gave no details on casualties pending completion of the operation.
More than 1,100 people have been killed in the past six months, and U.S. military commanders believe the violence may worsen ahead of the legislative elections, the next key step toward democracy after a quarter century of fighting.
The U.S. military said nine other suspected militants were detained in a two-week operation that ended Friday in the eastern province of Paktika.
Neumann did not rule out the possibility of rebel violence at the polls but said it would not prevent Afghans from voting.
“It will not stop them from electing a government. It will not stop them from going forward with democracy,” he said.
