U.S. air strikes leave dozens of Taliban dead in AfghanistanMarch 30, 2012 - 14:33 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Dozens of Taliban fighters were killed in U.S. air strikes and a gunbattle in western Afghanistan after an insurgent attack on an Afghan army patrol, NATO and Afghan officials said on Friday, March 30, according to Reuters. A spokesman of the International Security Assistance Force said the patrol came under attack in Gulistan district in western Farah province on Wednesday, prompting a call for air support. "Numerous insurgents were killed, and several motorbikes were damaged or destroyed" following two strikes by coalition aircraft, he said. Abdul Raoof Ahmadi, a police spokesman in western Afghanistan, said 30 Taliban were killed and another 15 wounded in the fighting in the remote area. Officials have warned of a hard summer ahead as the fighting season resumes and Afghan national forces assume responsibility of security in more parts of the country from NATO combat forces set to leave by the end of 2014. Taliban are active in parts of Farah including Gulistan, which falls on a desert highway connecting both Kabul and Kandahar to the western city of Heart. Mohammed Yunus Rasouli, the deputy governor for Farah, said five vehicles of the Afghan national army came under attack when they were crossing Gulistan and three soldiers were burnt inside the vehicle. "In response, ISAF, the national army and police started a joint operation which still continues," he said, adding he could not give a number of the militants killed. A Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said in a text message to reporters that its fighters had killed 40 guards in the attack in Gulistan which he said was carried out on a convoy carrying supplies for foreign troops. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Armenian Catholicos calls for national unity against threats Karekin II issued a message on Republic Day marking the anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Pashinyan: Armenia’s desired goal is “on the horizon” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Armenia is moving forward “without interruption”. Opposition leader, supporters spend night at Sardarapat memorial Police made nearly 300 arrests the day before as Galstanyan and his supporters continued to demonstrate in Yerevan. |