30 rebels killed; airstrike hits wedding in Uruzgan

TIRINKOT (Pajhwok): Thirty Taliban militants, including a suicide bomber, have been killed and 40 others wounded as a result of a latest clearing operation in central Uruzgan province, an official said on Tuesday.

Provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Wali Jan Sarhadi, told a press conference here that operation launched two days ago targeted insurgent hideouts in Nachin and Kabotar Khan localities of Tirinkot, the provincial capital.

A suicide bomber was among 30 militants killed and 40 others wounded during the latest operation. Two tanks the Taliban had seized from security forces were also destroyed in the battles.

He said over the past few months, police had recaptured several areas from Taliban. During the past months, the rebels made several attempts to regain control of the lost areas, but they did not succeed.

Sarhadi said they had started a search operation against policemen joining militants and giving them their weapons.

So far 18 security officials who joined the rebels had been introduced to judicial organs, the police chief said.

Separately, several people were killed and wounded after airstrikes hit a wedding ceremony in Khanqa locality of Tirinkot on Monday night. 

A locality resident, who wished to go unnamed, told Pajhwok Afghan News the airstrike targeted a house where a wedding party was underway. He said  he had had exact figures about those killed and wounded, but the victims included women and children.    

Provincial civil hospital director Aminullah Tokhi said confirmed receiving six injured people at the hospital and one of them died on the way to hospital.

pk/ma

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