'Nearly 3 dozen militants killed in clash with Afghan, coalition forces'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Nearly three dozen insurgents were killed Thursday in southern Afghanistan after they attacked an Afghan military convoy, a police official said. The clash occurred in the Shah Joy district of Zabul province, said deputy provincial police chief Jailani Khan. It was just the latest violence that has gripped the country's south, the Taliban insurgency's primary stronghold. Khan said the army called for assistance from the US-led coalition and Afghan police, and that the three forces surrounded the insurgents, killing 35, at least two of whom were Arabs. Five Taliban militants were arrested. "There was no report of any casualties among the coalition and Afghan forces," Khan said. The US-led coalition did not immediately respond to requests for comment.