More Than 100 Killed in Afghan Clashes

Afghans search and retrieve remains of victims in a wrecked bus following a bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, June 17, 2007. A bomb ripped through a police bus in a bustling area of Kabul on Sunday, killing more than 35 people and wounding over 35 others, officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks in the Afghan capital since the fall of the Taliban. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq) (Musadeq Sadeq - AP)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- More than 100 people, including militants, civilians and police, have been killed in three days of fierce clashes between NATO and the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Monday.

To the east, U.S.-led coalition jets bombed a suspected al-Qaida compound, killing seven boys and several fighters.

Afghanistan has seen a spike in violence the last several days, leading to a mounting number of civilian casualties that are sapping support for foreign troops and the government of President Hamid Karzai.

Even though a majority of civilians deaths is caused by attacks initiated by the Taliban, Afghan anger over civilian casualties is often directed toward U.S. and NATO-led troops. Such killings have prompted Afghan authorities to plead repeatedly for international forces to work more closely with Afghans.

In the southern province Uruzgan, the Taliban have launched what appears to be their biggest offensive of the year, forcing NATO troops to respond. They also have taken over a district in neighboring Kandahar, a police official said.

Dutch military officials said hundreds of Taliban fighters attacked police posts near the strategic town of Chora on Saturday, sparking a battle that officials said was continuing. The attack appeared to be a change in strategy by the insurgents, who had been relying on an increasing number of suicide and roadside bombings this year.

Maj. Gen. Jouke Eikelboom, director of operations with the Dutch military, said Karzai and the Uruzgan governor sought military support after the attack on the police posts.

A summary of fighter jet activity from Sunday sent out by the U.S. Central Command hinted at the ferocity of the battles, detailing at least eight aircraft dropping bombs or firing on the area.

Precise casualty figures were not available because of the continued fighting, though two Afghan officials said more than 100 people have been killed, including at least 16 police. A Dutch soldier also died.

Afghan officials said Taliban fighters sought shelter in civilian homes and that NATO bombers targeted them. Khan called such deaths "friendly fire."

Nearby in Kandahar, Taliban occupied the district of Miya Nishin late Monday, said Esmatullah Alizai, provincial police chief. Authorities were planning an operation to retake the remote area, he said.

In eastern Paktika province, meanwhile, U.S.-led coalition warplanes targeted a compound Sunday that also contained a mosque and a madrassa, or Islamic school, resulting in the deaths of seven boys ages 10 to 16, said Gov. Akram Akhpelwak.