Afghan Troops Engage in Deadly Battle With Remnants of Taliban
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Government troops laid siege to three towns in southern Afghanistan where remnants of the Taliban were hiding Wednesday, engaging in a fierce gun battle that left at least 40 Taliban fighters and seven soldiers dead, a senior official said.
The fighting broke out in Nimakai, a town about six miles north of Spin Buldak, District Chief Fazaluddin Agha said. It spread to the nearby hamlets of Populzai and Hassanzai.
Agha said about 50 Afghan troops were originally sent to Nimakai and that reinforcements doubled that number.
About 20 Taliban fighters were killed in Populzai and the rest in the other two villages, he said, in fighting that raged for nine hours. The Taliban fighters used rockets and heavy machine guns against the government troops, Agha said.
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