US-led forces say they killed six in Afghan clash

KABUL (Reuters) – U.S.-led and Afghan government troops
have killed about six insurgents in a battle in central
Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.

The clash erupted when gunmen fired on what the U.S.
military called an offensive patrol in the restive central
province of Uruzgan on Friday.

“An estimated six enemy fighters were killed; the remainder
fled the area,” the U.S. military said in a statement issued
late on Friday.

Taliban insurgents, battling U.S. and Afghan troops since
U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban government in late 2001,
launch frequent raids in the province.

The U.S. military, which said no Afghan or U.S.-led troops
had been hurt in the clash, said its offensive patrols were
aimed at rooting out insurgents and disrupting supplies.

“Such patrols are being conducted through the winter months
to deny the enemy sanctuary and hinder the enemy’s supply
efforts,” it said.

Also on Friday, a U.S. airstrike in neighbouring Pakistan
targeted al Qaeda’s number two, Ayman al-Zawahri, but it was
unclear whether he had been killed, U.S. sources knowledgeable
about the strike said.

The Taliban and their Islamic militant allies are mostly
active in the south and east, close to the border with
Pakistan.

About 20,000 U.S.-led troops are battling the insurgents
and hunting their leaders. NATO has about 10,000 peacekeepers
concentrated in Kabul, the north and west.

More than 50 U.S. soldiers were killed in clashes and bomb
attacks last year, the bloodiest period for U.S. forces since
the Taliban was ousted.