US coalition: 6 militants, 2 civilians killed in Afghan raid

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An overnight raid early Friday killed six militants and two civilians in western Afghanistan, the US coalition said. The raid in Farah province targeted a Taliban commander named Mullah Fazel, said Ghulam Farooq Nahimi, an Afghan army commander. Nahimi said Fazel was killed in the raid, though Farah's deputy governor said Fazel was alive but had serious wounds. The operation killed a woman and child in Fazel's compound, Nahimi said. He said the operation in Bakwa district involved airstrikes. The US-led coalition said militants ambushed a combined patrol of Afghan and coalition troops from an isolated compound with "intense and accurate" gunfire and rocket propelled grenades. The coalition said six militants and two civilians were killed during the battle. Two civilians were also wounded, it said. They were evacuated to a coalition medical facility.