US coalition forces kill 15 Taliban militants

US-led coalition forces in southern Afghanistan lobbed a grenade that destroyed a house and killed 15 Taliban militants as well as a civilian woman and two children, the coalition forces spokesman announced on Monday. The troops were raiding compounds suspected of housing bomb makers in the Garmser district of Helmand province on Sunday when militants attacked them with heavy fire, the statement said. Coalition forces responded with small-arms fire, killing several militants, it said.
"During one of the engagements, several militants barricaded themselves in a building on the compound and engaged coalition forces with a high volume of gunfire. Coalition forces used a single grenade which killed the attacking militants," the statement said.
"However, the building the militants were fighting from collapsed."
After the clash, troops recovered the bodies of a woman and two children from the collapsed building, along with several militants and their weapons. "We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased," said Major Chris Belcher, a spokesman for the US led coalition.