US Says Seven ‘Al-Qaeda’ Men Killed in Afghan Clash

ASADABAD, Afghanistan, 25 August 2006 — Seven suspected Al-Qaeda members were killed in a clash in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, the US military said, although Afghan officials said the dead were civilians.

Separately, a NATO soldier handing out relief was killed and four wounded when Taleban guerrillas attacked them in the southern province of Zabul, a defense ministry spokesman said.

That attack triggered a battle in which at least seven Taleban were killed, Zahir Azimi told Reuters. A NATO spokesman said he had no immediate information and was checking.

The seven suspected Al-Qaeda members were killed in a predawn raid on a compound in eastern Kunar province, the US military said in a statement. Later, a US spokesman said the nationalities of the seven killed were not known.

The US and Afghan troops were on an operation to capture “a known Al-Qaeda facilitator” linked to attacks on Afghan and coalition troops, the US statement said.

“Afghan and coalition forces came under direct fire when approaching the compound and defended themselves with return fire,” it said. A child was also killed and a woman wounded.

Afghan officials said the seven killed in the attack in Shegal district, to the east of the provincial capital, Asadabad, were civilians.

“These were civilians that were shot dead,” said senior provincial police officer Abdul Saboor Allahyar.

Provincial officials had earlier said seven civilians, including some village elders, were killed in an air strike but Allahyar said they were killed in ground fire.

The US and Afghan troops captured four men from the compound while other “enemy fighters” fled, the US statement said. An investigation had been launched to determine the identity of the seven dead, it added.

Kunar is near the border with Pakistan and the Taleban and their Islamic allies, including members of the Al-Qaeda network, have been active there since US-led troops overthrew the Taleban in 2001.

Pakistan said last week the mastermind of a plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic, foiled by British police this month, was an Al-Qaeda member based in Afghanistan. Pakistani press reports said the mastermind was believed to be in Kunar.