Forces in Afghanistan Kill Dozens of Militants, Detain Several

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2008 -- Several suspects were killed and five were detained during June 3 operations in Afghanistan, military officials reported today.

More than a dozen militants were killed when they unsuccessfully attacked a coalition base in Uruzgan province.

Militants used mortars and small-arms fire to attack Afghan national security forces at the base until additional Afghan and coalition forces arrived, officials said. The militants then fled to nearby villages, where the combined forces saw them attempting to use villagers as shields against attacks.

The combined forces killed several militants in Caharsyab and Nowrak villages, and no villagers were harmed, officials said.

Several hours later, the combined forces came under rocket-propelled-grenade, mortar and small-arms fire near the base. The combined forces responded with small-arms fire and precision air strikes, killing more than a dozen insurgents.

No civilian casualties were reported, and no Afghan or coalition forces were injured or killed.

In other operations, several militants were killed and five were detained during an Afghan and coalition operation to disrupt anti-government operations in Helmand province.

The combined forces searched compounds in the province’s Kajaki district, targeting a Taliban leader associated with the murder of Afghan government officials.

The combined forces identified a militant waiting in an ambush position with a rocket-propelled grenade and several other militants consolidating for an attack. Coalition forces responded with air strikes, killing the militants.

The combined forces discovered multiple AK-47 assault rifles, ammunition vests, ammunition, grenades and a large cache of narcotics, all of which were destroyed.

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 101 news releases.)

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