US-led coalition forces killed 15 militants, including one woman, during an operation targeting a Taliban commander in the eastern Afghan province of Laghman overnight, the US military said today.
"There was a ground operation targeting a Taliban commander. A number of militants manoeuvred on the force with small arms fire," USmilitary spokesman Colonel Greg Julian said.
Eleven militants were killed by small arms fire while four were killed by close air support, US military said in a statement. "In an area where there was no threat to civilians, precision air weapons, not bombs, were used," Colonel Julian said.
A provincial Afghan official said 22 civilians had been killed during the raid, a claim denied by the US military, which said it had no reports of civilian deaths "at this point".
"If allegations arise over civilian deaths then we will conduct an investigation," Colonel Julian said.
During the operation, which took place in Mehtar Lam district, some 60 kilometres east of Kabul, soldiers searched several compounds and identified one of the killed militants as a woman, the US military said. It said she was carrying a rocket propelled grenade.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan with around 5,000 people, including 2,000 civilians, killed as a result of the conflict last year alone, aid agencies say.
Reuters