13 suspected Taliban killed in gunbattle

KANDAHAR—Afghan and U.S. forces have launched a sweep for Taliban insurgents, killing 13 and capturing 44 suspected militants in the troubled south of the country, an Afghan official said on Monday.
The operation comes two weeks before general elections that are the final part of a plan to restore democratic government but Taliban violence, especially in the south and east, is a major worry.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the violent deaths of two candidates at the weekend.
Kandahar governor Assadullah Khalid said the hunt was a joint operation involving Afghan police and troops and U.S. troops in two of his province’s districts.
“It was launched yesterday and is still going on. So far, 13 Taliban fighters have been killed and 44 arrested,” he said.
A U.S. military spokesman earlier confirmed the operation was under way and more than 40 suspects had been detained.
“Through intelligence sources we determined there were a large number of insurgents in that area,” Colonel Jim Yonts told reporters.
He declined further comment saying the operation was ongoing but said the sweep was not a response to the kidnapping and killing of five people — an election candidate, a provincial official and three policemen — at the weekend.
The Taliban said they kidnapped and killed the five.
The United States has 20,000 troops in Afghanistan, most of whom are focusing on election security, as are 10,000 NATO-led peacekeepers and tens of thousands of government forces.
More than 1,000 people, most of them insurgents but including 49 American soldiers, have been killed this year, the bloodiest period since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001.—Agencies