NATO airstrikes kill 45 militants in Pakistan
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Kabul (dpa) - At least 45 militants were killed in southern Afghanistan by gunfire from Afghan security forces and NATO airstrikes, a provincial spokesman said Sunday.
A large number of Taliban fighters were crossing from Nimroz province into Helmand province Friday night when they encountered Afghan government forces who fired on them and called in NATO air support, Helmand spokesman Amar Zwak said.
Most of the militants were Pakistanis and the survivors among them fled, Zwak said, adding that local residents buried the dead.
No casualties were reported among the Afghan troops, he said.
In the south-western province of Ghazni, seven civilians were killed Friday in a suicide bombing targeting anti-Taliban villagers, said the province's deputy governor, Mohammad Ali Ahmadi.
Three of the victims were members of the Public Uprising, a movement made up of local residents against the Taliban, he said. Eight locals were wounded.
