KABUL, Afghanistan – A group of 75 Taliban militants tried to overrun a U.S.-led coalition base in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, a rare frontal attack that left more than 20 militants dead, the coalition said.
A joint Afghan-U.S. force used mortars and machine guns to repel the attack on Camp Anaconda in Uruzgan province, the statement said.
"Almost two dozen insurgents were confirmed killed in the attack," the statement said. Two girls and two Afghan soldiers were also wounded during the attack, it said.
In other violence, Taliban militants clashed with police in two separate incidents in southern Afghanistan, leaving five militants and two officers dead.
The militants attacked police at a checkpoint in Shinkay district in Zabul province on Monday, and the ensuing clash left five suspected militants dead, said Ali Kheil, the spokesman for Zabul's governor. There were no police casualties, he said.
Authorities recovered the militants' bodies alongside three motorbikes used in the attack, Kheil said.
Also Monday, militants attacked a police vehicle just outside Kandahar city, killing two officers and wounding eight others, said provincial police chief Syed Agha Saqib. The attackers escaped and police are hunting for them, he said.
Also in southern Afghanistan, Dutch soldiers fatally shot a motorcyclist who approached their convoy and failed to heed warning signals and shots, the Dutch Defense Ministry said.
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