Fifty more Taliban said killed in new Afghan clashes

KABUL (AFP) – More than 50 insurgents were killed in fresh fighting between Taliban-led rebels and soldiers from Afghan and international forces, the US-led coalition and police said Wednesday.Troops pounded suspected militants in the central province of Ghazni in battles that ended early Wednesday, the coalition said, adding that “several militants” were killed.

Ghazni province police chief Alishah Ahamdzai said around 30 Taliban fighters had died. There was no way to independently confirm the death toll.

It was the second major operation in Ghazni since Taliban fighters believed based there released last week 19 South Korean hostages they had held for six weeks.

Sixteen fighters, including a commander involved in the kidnapping, were reported killed there early Tuesday.

Separately nearly two dozen more militants were killed in clashes on Tuesday in the southern province of Kandahar, the coalition announced in another statement.