NATO and Afghan forces using airstrikes, artillery and mortars on Saturday killed more than 30 suspected Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said. The casualties were the latest reported in a weeklong offensive against the Taliban in Kandahar province's Panjwayi district, and brings the number of suspected insurgents reported dead by NATO in the operation to at least 320. Several Taliban compounds were destroyed in the fighting, said Maj. Scott Lundy, a NATO spokesman. He said more than 30 insurgents had been killed in the past 12 hours. NATO and Afghan forces suffered no casualties, Lundy was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. Reporters cannot access the scene of the battle, so it wasn't immediately possible to verify the death toll.
