US Military: 32 Insurgents Killed in Afghanistan
By VOA News
10 April 2009
The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan said 32 militants have been killed in recent clashes and airstrikes in the south.
A coalition statement said two of the clashes occurred Thursday in the provinces of Helmand and Uruzgan.
It said in both cases Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops on patrol were attacked by suspected insurgents and responded with the help of close air support, resulting in the deaths of 27 militants.
The military said no casualties for Afghan or coalition forces were reported in either clash.
The U.S. military in Afghanistan said coalition forces also killed five suspected militants in Kandahar province. A coalition statement said troops were targeting a network of Taliban combatants responsible for attacks in the region.
Southern Afghanistan is the center of a growing Taliban-led insurgency, fueled in part by the illicit opium trade from Helmand's poppy harvests.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with their Australian counterparts, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, in Washington to discuss military cooperation in Afghanistan.
After the meeting, Gates did not reveal whether the United States asked Australia to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Australia has about 1,100 troops serving with international forces fighting the Taliban.
U.S. President Barack Obama has asked for more support from NATO allies as part of his new strategy to stabilize Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mr. Obama has authorized the deployment of an additional 21,000 U.S. troops and trainers to Afghanistan.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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