Five Taliban militants killed in eastern Afghanistan

Five Taliban militants killed in eastern Afghanistan

2011-09-09 03:00:34 GMT+7 (ICT)

JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Five Taliban militants were killed on Thursday during an air strike in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

The five militants were killed during an air strike by foreign troops in Ganj Gul village in the Sarkano district of eastern Kunar province, according to Pajhwok news agency. Shah Mahmud, the Sarkano district chief, said another four rebels were wounded in the attack.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid alleged that a dozen civilians were killed in the air strike. However, Kunar police chief, Nazar Mohammad Naziri, rejected the claim that civilians had been killed or wounded.

In the same area, a four-member militant group was detained during a ground operation by Afghan and foreign forces, according to Mahmud.

Last week, Taliban militants kidnapped at least 20 Pakistani children who mistakenly crossed into the province of Kunar. All the children taken hostage were from the Mamoond tribe, which has formed a militia to fight alongside government forces against the Taliban.

The Taliban militants have been conducting several assaults on security posts and attacked pro-government tribesmen in villages situated in the border region disputed between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Last month, hundreds of Taliban militants from the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan attacked seven border posts in Pakistan's northern district of Chitral, killing 36 Pakistani security forces.

The Pakistani-Afghan border, which the United States considers to be the most dangerous place on Earth, is known to be a stronghold of the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani Network, considered one of the top terrorist organizations and threats to U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-09