Afghan Clashes Kill 24 Militants

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Philadelphia Inquirer
April 13, 2008 By Noor Khan, Associated Press
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Afghan and foreign troops clashed with and called air strikes on militants in southern Afghanistan, leaving 24 dead and eight wounded, an official said yesterday.
The fighting took place in two mountainous areas of Zabul province late Friday, said provincial deputy governor Ghulab Shah Alikheil.
The operation was aimed at militants responsible for Tuesday's ambush on a road construction crew in the province that killed 17 and wounded 16, Alikheil said.
There were no casualties among the joint forces, he said.
Road-building is a key part of Afghan reconstruction, and many projects are in remote, insurgency-plagued areas. Militants have targeted work crews in roadside bomb attacks, ambushes and kidnappings, killing and wounding dozens of workers and their private security guards.
Yesterday, a suicide bomber attacked an Indian road construction crew in the southwestern Nimroz province, killing two people, including an Indian engineer, Gov. Ghulam Dastagir said. Eight people, including five Indian workers and two civilians, were wounded in the blast, he said.
The bomber approached the construction site on foot, Dastagir said.
The Taliban "are conducting these suicide attacks and terrorist attacks to stop the development and reconstruction in Afghanistan," Dastagir said.
Suicide attacks in Afghanistan spiked in 2007, with the Taliban launching more than 140 suicide missions, the highest number since a United States-led invasion ousted the radical Islamist group from power in 2001.
 
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