Militants killed 17 road workers in Afghanistan’s lawless south, part of a spike in violence that left 40 people dead over two days.
Sixteen other construction workers were wounded in the attack on Tuesday in Zabul’s Shinkay district, said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary. Afghan and international security forces responding to the ambush killed seven militants and wounded 12, he said.
Road-building is a key part of Afghan reconstruction and many projects are in remote, insurgency-plagued areas. Militants have targeted work crews in roadside bomb attacks, ambushes and kidnappings. In January, militants in eastern Nuristan Province beheaded four road construction workers.
The 40-nation military alliance in Afghanistan has stepped up efforts to contain the growing insurgency and the US now has some 32,000 troops in the country, the most since the 2001 US-led invasion. Last year was the deadliest since the invasion, with more than 8,000 people killed, mostly militants, the UN says.
Denmark said on Tuesday it will add 50 to 75 personnel to its contingent in Afghanistan and two to four reconnaissance helicopters to help Danish forces spot roadside bombs and other threats.
Denmark has about 600 troops serving in the NATO force in Afghanistan, most of them based in the volatile Helmand Province.
In violence elsewhere on Tuesday, a Polish soldier died and one was wounded when a NATO patrol hit a roadside bomb in Ghazni Province, next to Zabul, Poland’s Defense Ministry said.
In southern Uruzgan Province, militants attacked a police convoy on Monday and the ensuing clash left 13 insurgents dead and five wounded, Bashary said.
In the western province of Herat, Taliban militants attacked a checkpoint on Monday in Shindand district, killing two police officers and wounding another, said Rauf Ahmadi, spokesman for the western region police.
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