Coalition, Afghan Forces Kill Armed Militants

American Forces Press Service

July 23, 2008 - Coalition and Afghan forces killed groups of enemy fighters during operations in Afghanistan this week, military officials said. While coalition forces yesterday searched compounds in the Sayed Abad district of Wardak province for a Taliban commander, a cadre of militants inside a barricaded house attacked troops with grenades, machine guns and small-arms fire.

Coalition forces fought back using small arms and grenades, and they called in an air strike, killing an unknown number of the enemy fighters, military officials said.

Combined forces also came under ambush during a July 21 operation in the Maruf district of Kandahar province. As troops patrolled the area, militants attacked from a fortified position, using small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The combined force returned small-arms fire and called for close-air support. The retaliation killed several militants and destroyed their attack position, military officials said.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan on July 21, Afghan national security forces and coalition forces observed a group of enemy fighters amassing along a ridgeline in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province. As the armed fighters moved into fortified fighting positions, the combined forces engaged them with small-arms fire and called for close-air support, killing the militants.

No Afghan or coalition forces were injured or killed during the engagement, military officials said.

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 101 news releases.)