Afghan and NATO-led forces killed or wounded more than two dozen insurgents in a 21-hour battle in the northeast of the country close to the border with Pakistan, the alliance said on Saturday, according to Reuters. Afghanistan saw its worst violence last year since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in 2001 and more than 5,000 were killed, but fighting has dropped off in recent weeks as most of the country is now carpeted in heavy snow. The clash began when troops from the Afghan army and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) attacked a group of fighters in the Watapoor district of Kunar province late on Thursday as they were massing to attack an ISAF base. "Small arms, machineguns, mortars, artillery, attack helicopters and close-air support with precision guided munitions were all used during the engagement," the statement said. Most ISAF troops in eastern Afghanistan are American.
