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US troops "eliminate" large number of Taliban militants

KABUL, Nov 14 (KUNA) -- Afghan and US-led coalition forces engaged and killed a "large group of insurgents" in southern Afghanistan, a military statement said on Wednesday.
The statement said the militants were "eliminated" near the Deh Rawod district of southern Uruzgan province of the country.
The combined force was conducting a reconnaissance patrol when a large group of insurgents engaged the patrol with small-arms fire and rocket propelled grenades. The Taliban fighters attempted to break contact and moved into a nearby compound causing women and children to flee the area.
Shortly after the combined force determined the enemy's positions, four separate precision air strikes "effectively eliminated" the insurgents who were trying to reinforce the enemy positions. The statement did not mention the exact number of militants killed in the operation. Separately, the Afghan and coalition troops arrested a foreign fighter in Qalat district of Zabul province, located in the same southern zone. Intelligence tips led Coalition forces to compounds in the district where they conducted a search for militants thought to be hiding in the area.
During the search, coalition forces found and detained a person who intelligence indicated as having connections to foreign fighter facilitation operations as well as other extremist activities. In yet another development, the coalition troops freed seven Taliban prisoners detained during an operation on November 7 operation in the Qalat district of Zabul province. (end) gk.rk KUNA 140918 Nov 07NNNN