Kabul, Afghanistan – U.S.-led and Afghan troops battled suspected Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday in ground clashes and airstrikes that left more than 100 militants dead, the coalition said.
In eastern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber attacked NATO troops helping to build a bridge, killing three American soldiers, a U.S. official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because not all families had been notified.
The battle in southern Kandahar province’s Shah Wali Kot district started after the joint force was ambushed by a large group of insurgents who tried to overrun their position several times before being strafed in airstrikes, the statement from the coalition said.
“Coalition aircraft destroyed the reinforced enemy emplacements and sniper positions, as well as two trucks used to reinforce and resupply the insurgent force,” the statement said.
More than 100 suspected insurgents and an Afghan soldier were killed, the coalition said. The casualty figures could not be independently verified because of the remoteness of the area.
The clash also left three coalition and three Afghan soldiers wounded, the statement said. The nationalities of the coalition soldiers were not disclosed, but a vast majority of them are American.
Violence is soaring in Afghanistan. This year, more than 3,900 people – most of them militants – have died, according to an AP tally of casualty figures provided by Western and Afghan officials.
Also Tuesday, U.S.-led and Afghan troops raided a house near Kandahar city, killing two suspected militants and detaining five others, a coalition statement said.
Those targeted in the raid were accused of facilitating bomb attacks against coalition and Afghan forces in Kandahar, the statement said. Those detained in the raid will be questioned at a military facility before being turned over to Afghan authorities, it said.
