NATO troops kill 4 insurgents in E. Afghanistan

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) killed four insurgents in the eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan Sunday, an ISAF statement said on Monday.

A U.S. patrol "attacked insurgents armed with rocket propelled grenades and semi-automatic weapons"near the Korengal Outpost in Pech district on Sunday night, the statement said, adding the troops also "confiscated a number of AK-47 rifles, magazines and a radio."

Maj. Matthew Hackathorn, an ISAF spokesperson said, "We will continue to patrol eastern Afghanistan and seek out insurgents."

Kunar, a mountainous region, has been a hotbed of Taliban and other militants, who clash with government and foreign troops frequently.

Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered an investigation into an incident in the northeastern Badakhshan province, in which ISAF bombardment killed one person and injured another, according to a statement issued by the government on Monday.

The brief statement didn't mention the identity of the casualties and the incident's exact time, only said Karzai asked the relevant authorities to investigate it quickly and "report back to him as soon as possible."

Also on Monday, a suicide car bombing killed three civilians and injured five persons, including an ISAF soldier in Kandahar city, capital of the southern Kandahar province, while another suicide bombing injured three civilians in Kabul.

Due to rising Taliban-linked violence this year, Afghanistan has plunged into the worst spate of bloodshed since the Taliban regime was toppled down nearly five years ago.

Over 2,400 people, mostly Taliban militants, have been killed in this volatile country this year.

Source: Xinhua