Troops Kill 2 Taliban Militants

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — U.S. helicopters bombed a tent in southern Afghanistan, killing two Taliban militants -- including a commander -- and 10 nomadic tribesmen, a deputy governor in Zabol province said Saturday.

The U.S. military confirmed the attack and said it killed Mullah Mohammed Gul Niazi, a former Taliban commander in the capital, Kabul. Mullah Mohammed Umer, deputy governor of Zabol, said Gul Niazi had been leading attacks against U.S.-led forces in the province for the last year.

Umer said the incident took place Thursday night in the district of Naubahar, 120 miles northeast of Kandahar, although a statement by the U.S. military indicated the bombing took place Wednesday.

The deputy governor said the Taliban militants took refuge in the tent after seeing American helicopters.

“We only know that Mullah Mohammed Gul Niazi was using a satellite phone when two American helicopters reached there,” he said. “Ten innocent nomads were killed because of these Taliban.”

The governor of Zabol province, Hafizullah Khan, said on BBC radio that Taliban fighters had been known to take refuge with nomads in the area.

Violence involving remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces has been on the upswing lately, particularly in southern Afghanistan along the border with Pakistan.

On Friday, Taliban guerrillas killed a district police chief in Kandahar province. Sardar Mohammed was killed and two of his bodyguards wounded when a group of guerrillas on motorbikes opened fire on them with assault rifles, a military official said.

“We have no doubt that Taliban remnants killed him,” he said.