Afghan fighting leaves 24 militants dead

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Fighting in rugged southern Afghan mountains killed at least 24 militants and five Afghan forces, while the US military acknowledged yesterday, that the Taliban have grown in ``strength and influence" in recent weeks.

The violence came after a week of some of the deadliest violence since the Taliban regime's ouster in 2001. As many as 336 people have died, mostly militants, according to Afghan and coalition figures.

The Afghan military commander for southern Afghanistan, General Rehmatullah Raufi, said up to 60 rebels had died in the latest fighting in Uruzgan Province, which involved ground forces and a US air strike. The US-led coalition, however, said 24 militants had died.

It was not immediately clear why there was a discrepancy in the numbers, which were impossible to confirm independently because the scene of the fighting was remote and insecure.

The fighting erupted after militants hiding in a mountain compound in a small village in Tirin Kot district fired small-arms, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars at a joint Afghan-coalition patrol late Tuesday, according to two separate US military statements.

The troops fought back for six hours, forcing the militants to retreat before they tried to bring in reinforcements from two nearby compounds, the statements said.

The forces then called in air support. American bombers and unmanned Predator aircraft, along with French and British fighter jets, dropped bombs and fired rockets at the militants.

Besides the troops and police that were killed, six Afghan soldiers and three police were wounded, one of the statements said.

In the past year, Uruzgan's inaccessible mountains have been the site of some of the heaviest fighting, but militants suffered high losses in battles with coalition forces, and the violence there had subsided in recent months.