7 insurgents, 3 civilians killed in Helmand attacks

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): At least seven Taliban insurgents have been killed in an airstrike by Afghan forces in southern Helmand province, officials said on Tuesday.

A social council member, who did not want to be named, told Pajhwok Afghan News a mosque came under airstrike while people were offering prayer in the Kofki area of Nad Ali district.

About 23 people suffered casualties in the raid on Monday evening, he said, adding the Taliban later conducted a search in the area. The raid came when the fighters entered the mosque.

Without providing exact casualty figures, he said the Taliban frequently conducted searches in the area.

Meanwhile, the governor’s spokesman confirmed seven militants were killed, including notorious commander Mullah Torjan, in the raid. Omar Zwak, denied civilian casualties in the airstrike.

Maj. Abdul Qadeer Bahadurzai, spokesman for the 215^th Maiwand Military Corps, said the raid was carried out by the Afghan Air Force. At least six fighters were killed.

On the other hand, a source in the Emergency-run hospital confirmed receiving three injured men from the site. The wounded are currently under medical treatment.

For their part, the Taliban claimed eight civilians had been killed and 15 others wounded in the airstrike on the mosque.

Elsewhere in the province, three individuals were killed, including a child, and a fourth wounded by a roadside bomb that ripped through their vehicle in Greshk district.

sa/mud

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