Sixteen Taliban dead in two days of battles, school torched (AFP)

KABUL (AFP) - US and Afghan troops backed by helicopter gunships and warplanes killed five suspected Taliban, the military said, bringing to 16 the number of rebels who have reportedly died in two days of clashes.

The deaths came during a series of joint operations across southern
Afghanistan to boost security ahead of the country's landmark parliamentary elections on September 18, it said on Thursday.

The statement added that the five guerrillas were killed on Wednesday in the Kandahar area, the birthplace of the Taliban, when US and Afghan troops located an "enemy observation post" and called in air support.

"With the combination of US A-10 aircraft, attack helicopters and direct fire weapons, five additional enemy were killed," it said, adding that there were no US casualties. There was no independent confirmation of the deaths.

Earlier, Afghan officials reported the deaths of 11 alleged Taliban insurgents during two raids in southern Afghanistan's restive provinces of Zabul and Uruzgan on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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