LA Chronicle : U.S. Strikes Taliban in Afghanistan

U.S. Strikes Taliban in Afghanistan

Associated Press | August 3, 2007

U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in southern Afghanistan targeted Taliban commanders, and Afghan officials reported Friday that a number of militants and civilians had been killed or wounded.

The airstrikes targeted two Taliban commanders during a meeting in a remote area of Baghran district in Helmand province on Thursday, the coalition said in a statement.

"During a sizable meeting of senior Taliban commanders, coalition forces employed precision-guided munitions on their location after ensuring there were no innocent Afghans in the surrounding area," it said.

The statement gave no details of casualties.

In apparent reference to the same incident, Mohammad Hussein, the provincial police chief, said that several Taliban and civilians were killed in an airstrike in the Shah Ibrahim area of Baghran district on Thursday.

Taliban militants were hanging two local people accused of spying for the government. Other villagers had come out to watch when the bombs fell, he said.

He said 20 wounded people were brought to the hospital in Helmand's capital of Lashkar Gah.

Enayatullah Ghafari, the head of the health department for Helmand province, said that the youngest victim was an 8-year-old boy while the oldest was a 50-year-old man. The rest are aged between 22 and 40, he said.

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