Afghanistan: Pakistani, 2 Chinese insurgents killed by US forces

Pakistani, 2 Chinese insurgents killed by US forces

* 6 dead in Kandahar suicide bombing

Staff Report

KABUL: Five militants including one Pakistani and two Chinese nationals were killed in fresh anti-insurgency operations in Afghanistan’s troubled southern zone, where another six people perished in separate bomb explosions on Monday.

Afghan and US forces shot dead three foreign Taliban insurgents and captured 10 others in a sweep through the Zabul province, said Wazir Mohammad, administrative chief of Shinkay district. Two Taliban fighters were killed and five others wounded in a crackdown jointly carried out by Afghan and coalition forces. Gen Mohammad Sarwar, deputy commander of the Kandahar Military Corps, said the sweep was conducted in Maroof district. Security forces suffered no casualties in the operation, Gen Sarwar said, adding the dead bodies of the combatants were still lying in fields. The 10 detainees were being grilled, he said.

Meanwhile, two suicide explosions in Kandahar killed six people and wounded eight on Monday, officials said.

According to officials, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the city centre, killing a senior anti-Taliban commander and three others. Eight people were also hurt in the blast which was followed by a second explosion in which a suicide bomber died on the road leading to the airport when the bomb strapped to his body exploded prematurely, said Kandahar governor Assadullah Kahlid. There were no other casualties, he said.

“Both incidents were the work of Taliban and Al Qaeda suicide bombers,” Khalid said. Among those killed in the first blast was a former senior factional commander, Agha Shah, Kandahar police chief Colonel Mohammad Hakim said. “At least four people, including Agha Shah, lost their lives in the explosion,” Hakim said.

Body parts from the victims of the first explosion were strewn on the dusty road outside Shah’s house in a crowded area of Kandahar. Shah was among local commanders who helped US-led forces to overthrow the Taliban government in 2001. A Taliban commander, who identified himself as Sabir Momin, claimed responsibility for the first incident.

REUTERS ADDS: A US military helicopter crashed during an anti-militant operation in Afghanistan, but although the aircraft was a write-off there were no casualties, an American military spokesperson said on Monday. Separately, one US soldier was killed and another wounded during an attack by militants in the southern province of Zabul on Sunday, a military statement said. An engine malfunction caused of the MH-47 helicopter to crash in the eastern province of Kunar on Thursday, said Tyler Foster, a US military public affairs officer. “The aircraft was returning from dropping troops during an offensive operation,” he said, adding that none of the crew were hurt.

Foster did not confirm recent media reports quoting a U.S. official in the United States saying Taliban militants had shot down the Chinook. At the time the Taliban claimed to have shot it down. Foster said an investigation was continuing to determine the cause of the crash.