Scores of Taliban Killed in Heavy Fighting

(Kandahar, Afghanistan) In unusually heavy fighting yesterday in southeastern Afghanistan, the Taliban suffered appropriately heavy losses.

From ContraCostaTimes.com:

Some of the fiercest violence since the Taliban's ouster in 2001 erupted across southern Afghanistan, with militants battling U.S. and Canadian forces, detonating car bombs and attacking a small village. Up to 105 people were killed, officials said Thursday.

Much of the violence occurred in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, where thousands of extra NATO troops are scheduled to deploy this summer to counter an increasing number of attacks from a stubborn insurgency.

The Taliban death toll from fighting Wednesday night and Thursday ranged up to 87, U.S. and Afghan officials said. Also, 15 Afghan police officers, one American civilian, a Canadian soldier and an Afghan civilian were killed in the attacks.

The attacks are considered to be the largest by the Taliban since 2001 and, based upon media reports, I'd say the aggressors took it in the shorts.

Notably, the Afghan National Police (ANP) demonstrated its ability to make the Taliban flee during the attack on government headquarters in Musa Qala in Helmand province. According to British military spokesman, Capt. Drew Gibson, the British helped evacuate casualties and let the ANP forces do the fighting to prove their abilities. I'm happy to relate that their performance was assessed as admirable.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.