Afghan National Army (ANA) backed by the U.S.-led Coalition forces have killed 13 militants in an ongoing operation in Logar province, some 60 km south of the Afghan capital Kabul, said a Coalition statement received here on Wednesday.
"The Afghan-led force was clearing a compound Tuesday to disrupt enemy activities when they observed several small groups of armed men moving toward them. The combined force called in a precision air strike, which killed four militants," it said, Xinhua reported.
While the joint troops received small arms and heavy machine- gun fire from a wooded area, they called in another precision air strike, which killed an additional nine militants, it added. "No Afghan Commandos, coalition forces or civilian casualties have been reported as a result of the operation."
Conflicts and violence have claimed over 5,000 people in 2008 in the war-plagued country while Taliban militants have vowed to speed up attacks against Afghan and international troops mostly in the shape of suicide and roadside bombings in 2009.