The U.S. military says Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops have killedat least 35 insurgents in two days of ground fighting and air strikesin southern Afghanistan.
A military statement says the clasheserupted Friday when the joint patrol was ambushed in the Kajakidistrict of Helmand province. U.S. officials say 20 insurgents werekilled after troops returned fire and called for air support.
OnSaturday, U.S. officials said joint forces killed another 15 militantsduring the raid on a compound reportedly used for making weapons andbombs in Kajaki district.
Elsewhere in southern Afghanistan,NATO says one of its soldiers was killed in a bomb blast Saturday. Thealliance did not release details of the bombing or the nationality ofthe soldier.
In a separate operation on Friday, the U.S.military says Afghan troops, with the help of U.S. coalition forces,captured a Taliban commander responsible for facilitating suicidebombings and roadside bombs in the Lagharah Valley of Khost Province,south of Kabul.
Southern Afghanistan is the center of a growingTaliban-led insurgency, fueled in part by the illicit opium trade frompoppy harvests in Helmand.
The Obama administration hasannounced a revised strategy to fight militants in Afghanistan andneighboring Pakistan. The new plan includes sending thousands ofadditional troops, as well as more money to train Afghan police anddevelop tribal areas.