Interior Ministry: 18 insurgents killed in joint allied, Afghan operation in southern Helmand

Police, allies kill 18 insurgents in S Afghanistan

KABUL — The Afghan government says 18 insurgent fighters have been killed in a joint operation between Afghan and international forces in southern Helmand region.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that six militants were also arrested during the operation a day earlier led by Afghan police, soldiers and intelligence agents backed by NATO forces in Helmand’s Sangin district.

Separately, deputy provincial police chief Fazel Ahmad Sherzad said an Afghan man was killed and a woman was wounded after insurgents attacked a house Monday in the Shah Wali Kot district of neighboring Kandahar province.

Thousands of U.S., NATO and Afghan forces are ramping up pressure on Kandahar — the birthplace of the former Taliban regime.