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71 Taliban militants killed in battle

Operation part of NATO strategy

KANDAHAR (Afghanistan): Afghan forces aided by NATO aircraft and artillery killed 71 suspected Taliban militants in running battles in southern Afghanistan that also left five Afghan troops dead in one of the bloodiest clashes since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

The militants were killed in a series of clashes which started on Saturday and spilled into Sunday morning following a militant attack in Panjwayi district of Kandahar province, said a top district official.

Worst bout of violence

A purported Taliban spokesman said 12 militants were killed and eight were wounded.

Afghanistan's southern provinces are bearing the brunt of the worst bout of violence to have rocked the country since the fall of the Taliban regime in the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001, as militants try to undermine the authority of President Hamid Karzai and his Government.

NATO troops used artillery and aircraft to inflict ``heavy casualties against Taliban fighters,'' an alliance statement said.

``It was a sizable engagement,'' said a NATO spokesman. He called the clash a part of the ongoing operation ``to extend security'' in the Kabul-Kandahar highway. The bodies of the dead militants were found in three locations, scattered through orchards alongside their weapons.

``The police are still searching for the dead bodies of Taliban,'' Mr. Sarhadi said.

Four policemen and one Afghan soldier were also killed in the clash, officials said. Three police and five soldiers were wounded, they said. Three other officers were missing, a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with official policy said. — Xinhua, AP

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