Kandahar, Aug 28: US fighter jets and helicopters bombed suspected Taliban hideouts in the rugged mountains of southern Afghanistan today, bombardments triggered by intense fighting between the insurgents and Afghan troops, officials said.
The troops were trying to flush out the Taliban when the guerrillas attacked with heavy machine guns in the Chinaran mountains in Zabul province, Haji Granai, an Afghan military commander, told from Chinaran. Three Taliban bodies were found, and four Afghan soldiers were lightly injured, Granai said as explosions boomed in the background.
Two US bombers and two helicopters helped in the battle with the insurgents, he said.
Zabul has seen heavy fighting this week. The province's governor, Hafizullah Hashami, has said that about 40 Taliban and three Afghan soldiers have been killed in the ongoing operation to clear out guerrillas hiding in the mountainous area.

Khalil Hotak, the head of intelligence in Zabul, said troops were also searching village homes. He said the insurgents were being led by Mullah Arif, who is in contact with the Taliban's fugitive chief, Mullah Mohammed Omar. He gave no evidence to back his claim, saying only that he had intelligence information.

A spokesman for Kandahar's Military Chief, Mohammed Yaqub, said two other prominent Taliban commanders, Mullah Dadullah and Mullah Shafiq, were leading the fighting in the area.
Bureau Report