NATO troops kill 20 militants after assaulting stronghold west of Afghan capital
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President Bush, center, and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, left, shaks hands during a video teleconference with U.S. Provincial Reconstruction team leaders, National Guard Agriculture Development team representatives, and Afghan governors in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, Sept. 26, 2008 in Washington. On the right is Sec. of Defense Robert Gates. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
KABUL, Afghanistan
The NATO-led force in Afghanistan says its troops assaulted an insurgent stronghold just west of the capital in a two-day battle that left 20 militants dead.
NATO said in a statement Monday that the battle took place in Wardak province. The province has become an insurgent stronghold at the gates of the capital just 40 miles west of Kabul.
NATO says its troops were flown into Wardak's Jalrez District on Thursday and were attacked by insurgents. That sparked a two-day battle in which airstrikes were used to kill more than 20 militants.
No NATO troops were killed in the clash.