960406

14 Taliban, 6

civilians killed

in rocket strike

KABUL: Fourteen Taliban warriors were killed in an intense artillery and rocket battle with Afghan government troops south of besieged Kabul, defence ministry officials said Saturday.

The militiamen died under intense cannon and rocket barrages from the government side during a firefight which lasted most of Friday, the officials and frontline officers told AFP.

No independent confirmation of the Taliban death toll could be obtained from here as the road linking the two opposing front lines has been sealed to all traffic. The government frequently reports scores of Taliban killed in action.

Government commanders in charge of battlefield posts and local residents confirmed however, that both warring factions pounded each other's positions with heavy weapons for about eight hours on Friday.

KABUL: Meanwhile six civilians were injured, two of them seriously, when a barrage of rockets struck the besieged Afghan capital late Saturday, hospital and defence officials said.

The six, including two women, were wounded by pieces of jagged shrapnel which were sent hurtling through the air after two rockets ploughed into a residential area of Kabul, they said.

A further three shells, which defence officials said were fir by the Tal Gia surrounding. Kabul, hit the area housing the presidential palace in the centre of town.

Salavo of Soviet-built rockets came after government jets bombed Taliban positions at their base at Charasyab, 25 kilometers south of here, soldiers near the area said.-AFP