The US military Monday said coalition forces had killed 10 suspected Taliban insurgents in south-east Afghanistan as Afghan President Hamid Karzai denounced the killing earlier of a female politician in Kandahar, reported dpa. Coalition troops backed by attack helicopters battled with a group of extremists in Sharan district in Paktia province, killing as many as 10 insurgents, the statement said. The fighting took place under the auspices of Operation Mountain Fury, which began nine days ago and sees about 4,000 Afghan and about 3,000 US forces attempt to restore security to five central and eastern provinces. In a separate incident in Mando Zayi district, Khost province, a suicide bomber attacked an Afghan Army patrol vehicle injuring one US soldier and damaging two vehicles, the statement said. The suicide bomber was killed in the attack. Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the shooting dead earlier of Safiya Omar Jan, Director of Womens Affairs in Kandahar province, also in the south.
