30 Taliban Killed in Strike

Always a good way to start the day...Yahoo News

The rebels suffered heavy casualties in the southwestern province of Farah on Wednesday, Afghan security commanders said.

Afghan forces and troops from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) surrounded a compound where rebels had massed in Bala Buluk district, the army commander for western Afghanistan told AFP.

In initial fighting, two Afghan soldiers and a policeman were killed and several were wounded, said the commander, Jalandar Shah Behnam.

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"Later, ISAF air planes bombed the fort and 30 Taliban including their ranking commanders were killed," he said. "There is no one left inside the fort."

The Farah deputy police chief, Mohammad Nabi Popal, also said 30 Taliban were killed as was one of his policemen.

"They were mostly Taliban from Helmand and some Pakistani Taliban who infiltrated our province from neighbouring Helmand," he said.

ISAF did not immediately comment.

It has been carrying out intense operations in restive Helmand province over the past weeks, saying the rebels had suffered significant losses, particularly in Garmser district on the border with Pakistan.

The district is said to be a Taliban gateway into Afghanistan from Pakistan, where extremists are said to have bases and training camps.

Popal said ISAF planes also bombed another area of Farah overnight after Taliban attacked police, wounding three of them.

"Heavy casualties were inflicted on the Taliban but we don't have a confirmed figure," he said, adding that "up to 15 may have been killed."

There has been a surge in violence in recent weeks, with a wave of Taliban attacks and major military operations against the insurgents.