Afghan commando raids kill 35 militants

Afp, Kabul

Afghan commandos backed by international troops and air power killed 35 militants in raids on Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, the defence ministry said Sunday.
Several other insurgents were wounded in the raids Saturday in Shah Wali Kot district in the restive province, the ministry said in a statement.
"The National Army commandos having the support of the international forces and air force killed 35 enemies who had massed there to interrupt the people's lives," the statement said.
Thousands of newly-deployed US Marines, British forces and Afghan security troops have launched a series of major assaults on Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan. The operations were unleashed at the beginning of this month in a bid to drive out Taliban insurgents to allow Afghans to vote in the nation's presidential elections set for August 20. The Taliban are the main militant group behind an increasingly deadly insurgency which they launched shortly after their government was toppled in a US-led invasion in 2001.