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U.S., coalition troops kill 27 in Afghanistan

KABUL — Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops killed 27 suspected insurgents in two separate clashes in southern Afghanistan, the coalition said in a statement Friday.

The fighting took place in the region at the center of the Taliban-led insurgency, where President Barack Obama has ordered thousands of new U.S. troops to join the fight to try to reverse militant gains in the last three years.

The combined force killed 15 suspected insurgents Friday after clashes and airstrikes in Helmand province’s Lashkar Gah district, the coalition statement said.

Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial governor, said that up to 36 insurgents were killed and 18 others wounded based on information provided by a local informant.

It was impossible to independently verify either claim.

Another 12 insurgents died during clashes in neighboring Uruzgan province Thursday, the coalition said. There were no Afghan or coalition casualties in either clash, the statement said.

Separately, insurgents attacked a police checkpoint in Helmand’s Nava district, killing six officers and wounding seven others, Ahmadi said.