U.S. Airstrikes Kill At Least 17 Taliban In Uruzgan Province

Great news out of Afghanistan. The Taliban just cannot resist their ambushes of U.S. and NATO patrols and they tried another one today in Uruzgan province in Afghanistan and as usual, when the Taliban are fought off by U.S./NATO troops, they retreat to a "safe" place and U.S. airstrikes were called in on that location and behold, we have at least 17 Taliban pushing up daisies (or is it poppies?).

Here's some of the story USA Today:

The bloodiest of the reported incidents occurred near Tirin Kowt, the main town in the southern province of Uruzgan.
A coalition statement said militants ambushed Afghan and coalition forces patrolling Thursday in an area where an Afghan army checkpoint was attacked earlier in the week.

It said the militants retreated under fire to a "fortified position" that coalition warplanes targeted with an airstrike. Several civilians fled the area before the strike, it said.
The coalition said about 100 militants assailed the same patrol on Friday morning before fleeing to a nearby village. The clash prompted another airstrike.
The statement said about 17 militants were killed. It made no mention of any casualties among coalition or Afghan forces or civilians.

Hey, any day we can send 17 Taliban off to the gates of Hell, is a good day. And the fact of the matter is this - the Taliban just do not have the patience for the old suicide bomb/IED tactics that the Arabs in Iraq have - the Taliban love a good ambush when they can plan one and for them lately, it's been the kiss of death. Shame, isn't it? :mwahahaha:

At least 18 die in U.S.-led coalition strikes in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S.-led coalition forces called in airstrikes to back up ground troops in two Afghan provinces, killing more than 17 militants and a female civilian.
The statement said about 17 militants were killed. It made no mention of any casualties among coalition or Afghan forces or civilians.
The coalition said it killed "several" more insurgents and a female civilian in an operation Thursday in Zurmat district of eastern Paktia province.
It said it launched airstrikes after its forces came under fire as they searched compounds for two militant leaders believed behind attacks by foreign fighters.
Several militants and a woman who was in the building the militants were firing from were killed, it said. One militant detonated a suicide-vest, killing himself, the coalition said.
The U.S. and NATO-led forces have lost public goodwill by periodically causing civilian deaths in operations against insurgents since the ouster of the hard-line Taliban regime in 2001. They say they take all reasonable steps to avoid civilian casualties.
Also in the east, a suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy Friday in Nangarhar province, wounding four troops in NATO's International Security Assistance Force, the alliance said in a statement. Most troops in that province are American.