Afghanistan - fighting

12 Taliban killed in clinic siege

Article published on the 2009-08-27 Latest update 2009-08-27 17:07 TU

US soldiers in Helmand, South Afghanistan.
(Photo: AFP)

Twelve Taliban fighters were killed and four captured after a six-hour gun battle in a medical clinic in East Afghanistan. The militants had forced their way into the clinic seeking medical help for their leader when they were surrounded by Afghan forces acting on a tip-off.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) acting under Nato said in a statement that one US soldier was also killed in the battle, which happened near the Pakistan border in the Sar Hawza district of Paktika.

The injured suspected leader of the group is thought to have been wounded during fighting on the 20 August, election day.

The Afghanistan forces came under fire while clearing the clinic and were then backed up by international forces. ISAF say that once all the civilians inside the clinic were safe, a US Apache helicopter was called in to fire at the building.

Violence in South and East Afghanistan peaked on election day, but recently attacks on the 100,000 international troops in the country have increased. Isaf says that a US soldier was also killed in an Improvised Explosive Device blast in the South.