Five NATO soldiers were among a dozen
people killed in the latest clashes in Afghanistan, officials said Friday,
marking it a deadly start to the month for the 40-nation alliance forces,
reported dpa. Four NATO-led International
Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers and a civilian were killed Friday
in a roadside attack in eastern Kunar province, the alliance said in a
statement.
"This is a very difficult time right now, and our sincere condolences and
sympathies are with the families and friends of the brave soldiers and civilian
who died," ISAF spokesperson, British Royal Navy Captain Mark Windsor, was
quoted as saying.
Another ISAF soldier was killed in a similar roadside attack in neighbouring
Khost province on Friday, ISAF said in a separate statement.
ISAF did not disclose the nationalities of the dead soldiers. Most of the
forces stationed in eastern region are Americans.
Taliban militants who lost power in late 2001 following the US-led invasion
have recently largely relied on the use of suicide- and roadside attacks, both
tactics believed to have been copied from Iraqi insurgents.
Meanwhile, five other people, including three Taliban, a police officer and a
civilian, were killed in a clash in southern Afghanistan, while Afghan security
forces and US-led coalition forces arrested two dozen suspected Taliban in the
eastern region.
A group of Taliban militants attacked a police checkpoint in Nad Ali district
of the volatile Helmand province on Thursday night, Mohammad Hussain Andewal,
the provincial police chief, said.
The firefight left three Taliban fighters, a policeman and a civilian dead, he
said, adding the militants immediately retreated from the scene, leaving behind
the body of one of their comrades.
In another development, Afghan police and army forces arrested at least 13
suspected Taliban militants, including one of their local commanders, on
Thursday in the eastern region, according to Mohammad Gul Mangal, spokesman for
police forces in the eastern zone.
Akramuddin, a Taliban commander, and six of his fighters were arrested in a
joint operation in an area close the provincial capital of Paktia, while six
others were detained in Saberai district of Khost province, Mangal said.
Afghan police backed by US-led coalition forces also arrested 11 other
suspected militants in an operation in Paktika province on Thursday, US military said in a statement.
Eastern and southern regions of the country, which have long borders with Pakistan - where Taliban-led militants allegedly have safe havens - has witnessed a surge
in insurgent attacks since the beginning of spring.
More than 2,500 people - mostly insurgents, but including hundreds of civilians
- have lost their lives in clashes and suicide attacks so far this year.