More than 20 Taliban rebels were killed and over a dozen wounded in a joint operation between Afghan and Western forces in eastern Afghanistan, officials said on Saturday. The Islamic extremists were killed late Friday in the province of Kunar, its governor Fazlullah Wahedi said.
"The Afghan National Army and our foreign friends identified their locations and launched a successful operation. Over 20 of them were killed and over 10 were wounded," he said. An army commander, Captain Adam Khan Mateen, citing military intelligence reports, said some of the fighters were foreigners.
"We've intercepted their radio conversations and have intelligence reports that some of those killed and injured were foreign terrorists," he said. Foreign nationals is usually a reference to al Qaeda members fighting with the Taliban.
The Taliban, who were in government from 1996 until being ousted in 2001, are waging an insurgency against the US-backed government in Kabul and tens of thousands of Western troops based in the country. Most of the Western troops are operating under the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force, a United Nations-mandated peace-keeping force.