U.S. forces kill 11 suspected Taliban in raid

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U.S. forces kill 11 suspected Taliban in raid
By Drew Brown, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, December 27, 2008

MAIWAND DISTRICT, Afghanistan — The U.S. military said Friday it had killed 11 Taliban during a raid that targeted a roadside bomb cell believed to be responsible for a string of recent attacks that have killed a number of foreign soldiers in Kandahar province.

The suspected cell leader was killed and two others were detained after a firefight in Maiwand district, about 40 miles west of the provincial capital of Kandahar, U.S. Forces Afghanistan said in a statement.

The military said the soldiers first called for everyone in the compounds to surrender, but were met with heavy machine-gun and rifle fire.

The military said the soldiers did not return fire until women and children had left the buildings and were moved to a safe location.

“Moving under enemy fire, coalition forces (then) engaged the barricaded militants with small-arms fire and hand grenades,” the statement said. “After neutralizing the threat, the force searched the buildings, discovering eleven militants were killed.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59646