More than 100 Taliban insurgents were killed in two separate operations using NATO air power in the southern province of Helmand, a government spokesman said Sunday. At least 62 Taliban militants, including foreign fighters, were killed when rebels attacked police posts close to the provincial capital Lashkargah early Sunday, a spokesman for the governor told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. The ground forces responded and NATO aircraft also bombed the militant positions, said the spokesman, adding that a Taliban commander, Mullah Qadratullah of neighbouring Kandahar province, was among the dead militants. "There are also reports that several foreign fighters were among the 62 dead militants, but so far we don't have their exact number," he said, saying his information was based on intelligence reports. Another 40 militants were killed in a three-day-operation in Nad Ali, another district of the same Helmand province, the spokesman said, adding that no Afghan or NATO soldiers were killed in the operations. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) also confirmed that militants had planned to conduct a "major" attack against Afghan military posts in Lashkargah city. "Insurgents were seen gathering on the outskirts of the town, prior to launching a mortar attack," a military statement said. "During this counterattack, ISAF forces successfully conducted an air strike in which multiple enemy forces were killed." "If the insurgents planned a spectacular attack prior to the winter, this was a spectacular failure," ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Richard Blanchette said.
