Afghanistan: 82 more dead 'spoilers'

"The message to the spoilers, be it Taliban, be it drug lords, be it warlords, whatever, will be a very stern and strong message: You will not get in our way. You will be dealt with very robustly if necessary." NATO sec gen Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

Forbes/AP - MSS ['Military Spokesman Said']

Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed about 82 militants in battles across southern Afghanistan, the military said Saturday.

On Friday, troops fought more than 40 extremists during a five-hour gunbattle near the village of Mirabad, northeast of the capital in southern Uruzgan province.

Most of the militants were believed killed, the coalition said. No coalition or civilian injuries were reported.

In a separate assault, Afghan and coalition forces battled a large group of militants in the Zharie district of Kandahar province, killing about 25 during the three hours of fighting.

"Several extremists broke contact by using innocent Afghan civilians as shields to escape into nearby villages," a military statement said. Read more

db: Karzai said this week "It is not acceptable for us that in all this fighting, Afghans are dying. In the last three to four weeks, 500 to 600 Afghans were killed. (Even) if they are Taliban, they are sons of this land,". "Not acceptable" in this context has a different meaning to the one generally understood. For further clarification see Dictionary of Puppetspeak [Amazon $8.99+pp]