50 Taliban killed fleeing Musa Qala for Sangin

AP/Washington Post:

Afghan soldiers backed by NATO air power killed more than 50 Taliban fighters during a two-day battle with militants who tried to attack a southern Afghan town near the one they were routed from this week, Afghanistan's Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

Afghan soldiers fought the insurgents in Sangin, a town in Helmand province that neighbors Musa Qala, which Taliban fighters had controlled since February before abandoning it this week in the face of an offensive by Afghan, British and U.S. forces.

"When the terrorists were defeated in Musa Qala, they escaped to Sangin and started firing in and around Sangin," the Defense Ministry said.

Among the 50 militants killed were three foreigners and three commanders, the ministry said. It said no civilians were hurt or killed in the operation.

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This is an encouraging sign that not only was there good military planning to cut off the Taliban lines of retreat, but that the Afghan army backed by our aircraft were up to the task of defeating them. The Taliban continue to lose leadership and now they are losing the foreigners who were brought in to replace leaders lost in earlier battles. It will be hard for them to sustain these casualties without further deterioration in their fighting ability.