By Zhang Yunlong, Xinhua,
Kabul : One soldier serving the NATO-led military died in southern Afghanistan as 13 militants were detained during an Afghan and U.S.-led Coalition operation in eastern province Paktia, the NATO and Coalition said Wednesday.
One soldier of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) died of wounds and one was injured Tuesday during an engagement with insurgents, said an ISAF statement. It did not release the casualty’s nationality or gave more details.
Afghan and Coalition forces detained 13 militants Tuesday during an operation to “degrade anti-government activities” in Paktia province, the U.S.-led Coalition said in a statement.
The arrests were made as the joint force were searching compounds in Zadran district for a militant “conducting foreign fighter, IED (improvised explosive device) and weapons facilitation operations,” it added.
The Coalition said a male in one compound “disregarded efforts to protect non-combatant” and suffered a head injury while “resisting” the force. The injured person had been shifted to a Coalition hospital for treatment, it added.
Furthermore, several AK-47 machine guns, ammunition vests and ammunition were confiscated and destroyed or removed, according to the U.S.-led military.
Currently around 70,000 international troops under the flags of NATO-led ISAF and the U.S.-led Coalition forces separately are deployed in Afghanistan to help with stabilizing security of the war-torn country.
Around 8,000 people, mostly anti-government insurgents, died in Afghan battles and militancy-related violence, according to the U.N..