Wire: Dozens of Taliban Killed After 3 US Deaths in Afghanistan

Off the Wire:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2009 -- Newswire services this morning reported that a battle in western Afghanistan that included airstrikes killed dozens of Taliban militants after an insurgent ambush left three U.S. troops dead, an Afghan official said Sunday.

The Associated Press reported that the hours-long battle took place Saturday in the western province of Farah after a complex attack that killed three Americans and seven Afghan troops, said Afghan army spokesman Maj. Abdul Basir Ghori.

The insurgent ambush involved two roadside bombs, gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, a U.S. military spokeswoman, said Sunday. Mathias confirmed that fighting in the west continued after the ambush, but she could not provide any casualty figures, AP said.

Ghori said about 50 militants were killed in Saturday's battle, but no other Afghan officials could immediately confirm that figure.

The fighting took place in the Bala Baluk district of Farah province.

(Report from newswire sources.)

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