Elite US troops killed 16 people yesterday in an attack on a convoy believed carrying fleeing al-Qaeda guerrillas in eastern Afghanistan, defense officials said today.
"We don't have a lot of details yet, but 16 were killed, one was wounded and one captured. No American troops were injured," one official told reporters, adding that the attack took place about 45 miles (70 km) southwest of Gardez.
Other defense officials said US army special forces troops conducted the attack on a convoy of three or four vehicles which were believed to be fleeing US-led forces in Operation Anaconda around Gardez.
The officials spoke as US, Afghan and western coalition forces were winding up Operation Anaconda, the biggest battle of the Afghan war. The operation began early this month in the region around Gardez and killed hundreds of regrouping al-Qaeda and Taliban troops in an area peppered with caves.
Meanwhile US forces raided a compound west of Kandahar yesterday, detaining 31 people and seizing weapons and ammunition, a senior US military official said today.
Air Force Brigadier General John Rosa, deputy director of current operations of the Joint Staff, had few details on the raid but said "key indicators made us believe we needed to go into that compound."
He said 31 people were detained in the operation. "Weapons and a large amount of ammunition were also discovered in this compound," he added.