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 KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan and international forces clashed with Taliban insurgents in two separate gun battles in the south and west, leaving 13 militants dead and four other people wounded, officials said Tuesday.
The latest violence came as Afghan officials claimed their forces have trapped up to 200 Taliban in a southern village, possibly including the militia's military commander, Mullah Dadullah, a claim later denied by the Taliban.
After a winter lull in the violence, Afghan, NATO and U.S.-led forces have stepped up operations in recent weeks, hoping to pre-empt a feared spring offensive by militants that threatened the already shaky grip of President Hamid Karzai's government.
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