Afghans Report Killing 35 Taliban Fighters in South

QALAT, Afghanistan — Afghan soldiers killed 35 Taliban fighters in a fierce ground battle Friday after a night of heavy U.S. bombing in remote southern mountains, an Afghan official said.

Provincial intelligence chief Khalil Hotak said 500 Afghan soldiers moved in on the Taliban in the mountains of Dai Chopan district. “Our forces counted 35 Taliban bodies,” and four government soldiers were wounded, he said. Those numbers could not be verified independently.

The U.S. military, meanwhile, said one of its special operations soldiers died in a fall during a nighttime assault in the rugged mountains of the southern province of Zabol. His name was not immediately released.

On Aug. 20, another U.S. special operations soldier was killed in action in the eastern province of Paktika. About 11,500 U.S.-led forces are helping Afghan troops hunt down Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters in the south and east of the country.