August 25, 2003	Monday	Jumadi-us-Sani 26

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KABUL, Aug 24: At least three suspected Taliban fighters and five government soldiers were killed in an ambush in southeastern Afghanistan where around 1,000 troops were carrying out operations against militants, a local official said on Sunday.

Soldiers were ambushed on Saturday in Zabul province’s Shah Joy district, 290 kilometres southwest of Kabul, provincial governor Hafizullah Hashim said.

“Five government soldiers were killed while they were on their way to Shah Joy district as part of a 1,000-man cleanup force on Saturday,” he told AFP.

Administrations of the Zabul and Kandahar provinces — Kandahar is headquarters of the Southern Corps that covers the provinces of Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan and Helmand — had sent the troops to the district following reports that Taliban militants were regrouping, said Hashim, who last week took over as governor during a reshuffle to help improve security and administration in the provinces.

US-led coalition troops were supporting the operation on Sunday, he said.—AFP