Seven militants slain in Afghanistan

Seven militants have been killed and two others arrested during a joint combat operation by Afghan troops and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan’s mountainous northeastern province of Kunar. “Based on intelligence, a unit of special operation forces of Afghan soldiers and NATO-led coalition troops raided a compound in Marawara district overnight, killing seven armed miscreants," Sabawoon Hotak, an ISAF spokesman in eastern Afghanistan, told the Xinhua news agency on Saturday. He said two militants, including a Taliban local leader, were also captured during the raid. Insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan despite the presence of some 130,000 US-led forces in the Asian country. The United Nations announced on February 4 that 2011 was the deadliest year on record for Afghan civilians. The death toll rose eight percent compared to the year before and was roughly double the figure for 2007. Overall, 3,021 civilians died in violence related to the war and 4,507 were wounded in 2011. The UN attributed 77 percent of the deaths to militant attacks and 14 percent to US-led foreign troops and Afghan forces. Nine percent of the cases were classified as unknown.