Afghan, U.S. forces arrest more than 30 suspected militants, kill 12 others

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan forces killed 12 suspected Taliban militants Tuesday in a shootout south of the capital, while more than 30 suspected insurgents were detained as security forces fought back against a deadly spike in violence, officials said.

A fierce gunbattle broke out in Ghazni province's mountainous Andar district as Afghan soldiers and police, backed by U.S.-led coalition forces, entered an area where insurgents were holed up, said Mohammed Ali Fakuri, spokesman for the provincial governor.

Twelve militants were killed in the ensuing clash and their bodies left at the scene by comrades who fled, Fakuri said. Two policemen and one Afghan soldier were wounded.

Ghazni and other southern provinces, particularly Kandahar and Helmand, are gripped by the deadliest spate of fighting since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks for harboring al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

A U.S.-led coalition soldier was also killed and another injured when their Humvee rolled over Monday in Kunar province's Asadabad district, a coalition statement said.

Police arrested nine people accused of helping Afghan and Pakistani militants prepare for suicide attacks, said Taj Uddin, spokesman for Afghanistan's counterterrorism department. The nine were arrested Friday in the eastern Logar province and transferred to Kabul for questioning.

"We have reports that four suicide bombers were aided by this group and coming from Logar," said Uddin, who added one of the four was killed in a recent attack on the Jalalabad-Kabul road.

Uddin had no details on whether the group was linked to the suicide bombing in Kabul that killed at least 16 people, including two U.S. soldiers.

Logar province tribesmen rejected the claim that the detainees, including a child about 15 years old and an elderly man, were part of a militant cell.

"They had a dispute with a man in their village, who accused them of being involved with suicide bombings," said Haji Alkum, who traveled from Logar to Kabul to try ensure their release. "They were shepherds, not terrorists."

Police also confiscated several Iranian, Chinese and Russian-made weapons, including machine-guns, bomb-making materials and thousands of rounds of ammunition, from a house in the province allegedly linked to the nine, Uddin said.