NATO forces reclaim parts of the south

AFGHANISTAN: NATO forces have recaptured territory in southern Afghanistan from Taliban insurgents during an 11-day operation that has killed at least 510 suspected militants, the alliance said Tuesday.

Security forces also killed a dozen Taliban on Tuesday and detained nearly 40 in raids aimed at quelling an insurgency so relentless that it has prompted NATO commanders to call for more troops.

Swedish and Finnish troops, meanwhile, killed a local Afghan militant leader and wounded three other armed men during a 40-minute clash Tuesday in northern Afghanistan, NATO said.

The troops, who are fighting under NATO control, were attacked with rocket-propelled grenades, small-arms fire and a roadside bomb in Boka, a village in Balkh province, the alliance said in a statement.

The Nordic troops returned fire, killing a militant known as Nematullah and wounding three insurgents. There were no NATO casualties, the statement said.

In a further sign of the poor security in the countryside, police said unidentified masked gunmen kidnapped a Colombian and two Afghan aid workers Sunday in a remote mountain region west of Kabul.

Taliban militants this year have launched their deadliest attacks since the hard-line regime was toppled by U.S.-led forces in late 2001 for hosting Osama bin Laden.

Zhari, Wednesday, AP