Nearly 90 killed in bloody Afghan weekend

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/August/subcontinent_August778.xml§ion=subcontinent

KANDAHAR - A series of Taleban-linked attacks in Afghanistan this weekend killed around 90 people, including more 70 rebels killed in a major clash in the south and four US soldiers, officials said.

NATO ground troops called in air and artillery support during clashes with rebel forces of around 100 fighters in southern Afghanistan in one of the bloodiest weekends this year, officials said Sunday.

Most of the violence, which struck on the day Afghanistan celebrated its independence from Britain in 1919, was in the south where a NATO-led force took command three weeks ago in the alliance’s toughest military operation yet.

In the deadliest clash, scores of rebels attacked the town of Panjwayi in Kandahar province late Saturday, sparking a five-hour series of battles involving Afghan and NATO security forces, officials said.

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Don't they know this takes attention away from the successes in Iraq?.

Knock it off, or Bush will have to make another stupid speech before a hand-picked crowd on a military base.