15 insurgents killed by their own bombs in Afghan mosque

KABUL - Eight Arab, five Pakistani and two Afghan militants were killed when bombs they were making exploded prematurely inside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, the interior ministry said Sunday.

The insurgents were assembling bombs in Desi Mosque of Yousifkhela district in the south-eastern province of Paktika Friday, the ministry said.

Pakika borders the Pakistani town of Wana, where Taliban militants are said to have training bases. Afghan officials have repeatedly blamed Islamabad for not doing enough to clamp down on cross-border infiltration by insurgents.

In the northern province of Kunduz, several Taliban fighters including a foreign insurgent commander were killed Saturday by a NATO airstrike in Chardarah district, NATO said Sunday.

“After verifying insurgent activity and conducting careful planning to avoid civilian casualties and mitigate collateral damage, coalition aircraft were called in for the precision airstrike,” it said.

The targeted commander coordinated logistical support and operations “with the Taliban’s Pakistan foreign fighter cell leadership”, it said.

NATO also confirmed the death of one of its soldiers in a roadside explosion in southern Afghanistan Saturday. The alliance had already reported the deaths of five more troops killed in separate attacks in the country Saturday.

Saturday’s deaths brought the total of foreign soldiers killed in the war this year to 309, compared with the 157 deaths registered between January and June of 2009, according to iCasualties.org.