U.S., Afghan forces kill 40 militants
(AP)
Updated: 2005-08-22 17:20

Hundreds of U.S. Marines and Afghan forces have killed more than 40 suspected militants in the past week in an operation to take a remote mountain valley from insurgents who had inflicted the deadliest blow on American forces since the Taliban regime was ousted nearly four years ago, the U.S. military said Monday.

The operation, which concluded over the weekend, was aimed at rebels believed responsible for twin attacks, including the downing of a helicopter, that killed 19 U.S. troops in late June in Korengal Valley, eastern Kunar province.

"It was successful," Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara told The Associated Press. "We had over 29 separate engagements with enemy forces that resulted in over 40 enemy killed in action and many others wounded."

He declined to give other details of the offensive.

But O'Hara also announced that a separate three-day battle from Aug. 7-10 in southern Zabul province's Daychopan district left a total of 65 suspected militants dead. The military had previously reported that 16 rebels had been killed in the fighting.

News of the casualties comes after a deadly period for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, with 13 American troops killed this month. Four soldiers were killed Sunday when a massive bomb exploded under a wooden bridge as a convoy of armored Humvees was crossing it. Three troops were wounded by shrapnel from secondary explosions as they tried to pull the four out of a burning Humvee.

Most of the troops who have been killed have been part of a major offensive against militants who have vowed to subvert legislative elections on Sept. 18 錕斤拷 the next step toward democracy after more than two decades of war and civil strife.

Some 187 U.S. service members have been killed in and around Afghanistan since the start of Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001 錕斤拷 including 64 during a rash of insurgent attacks in the last six months, which have left about 1,000 other people dead as well.

The bloodshed has led the military to rush in an airborne infantry battalion of about 700 troops on standby in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, boosting the number of American troops in Afghanistan to about 20,000. Some 3,100 soldiers from 19 other nations also are members of the U.S.-led coalition.

A separate NATO-led peacekeeping force also has brought in reinforcements ahead of the polls and now numbers about 10,500.

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