40 insurgents killed, weapons seized in joint air-ground assault

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KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan and NATO forces killed more than 40 insurgents in a joint air and ground battle in southern Afghanistan, a security official said yesterday. Separately, two soldiers from the U.S.-led coalition died after hitting a roadside bomb.

Coalition officials say the dead are not Canadians but their nationalities have not yet been released.

Troops seized dozens of weapons -- including rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns -- after Saturday's battle in Dihrawud, a district in Uruzgan province, the Afghan Defence Ministry said in a statement. It said many militants were killed, including a commander, but provided no figures.

An official at the ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release details about the battle, put the number of dead at more than 40 .

Also Saturday, U.S.-led coalition troops hit a roadside bomb in Kandahar province as they were conducting a security patrol with Afghan troops, the coalition said in a statement. Two soldiers died, it said.

Canada has about 2,400 troops in the region. Since the military mission began in 2002, 81 Candian soldiers have died.