Troops Kill Suspected Militants in Eastern Afghanistan

US and Afghan troops killed four suspected militants and detained 16 others during a raid in eastern Afghanistan today, coalition forces said in a statement.

The raid in Nangarhar province targeted three compounds suspected of "harboring Taliban and foreign fighters," according to a military statement.

"Taliban forces inside two of the compounds attempted to engage coalition forces as they approached," the statement continued. "The forces fired on the militants, killing the assailants and quickly securing the compounds."

During the search, troops found rocket-propelled grenade launchers and several grenades, which were removed and destroyed, the statement said.

The statement did not identify those killed or detained, but it said no civilians were injured.

But there were conflicting reports about the operation. Malek Zaman, an elder of the village where the raid took place, said the US troops used explosives to go through the gates of a house and killed a local man, two of his sons and his grandson.

The head of Afghanistan's Human Rights Group, Lal Gul, supported Mr Zaman's story, saying the local man, Mohammada Jan, was 85.

"The American soldiers blew up the gate of Mohammada Jan's house and then martyred him along with his three family members," Mr Gul said.

He also claimed the soldiers arrested 15 civilians during the pre-dawn raid in Khogiani district, which lies in the foothills of the provincial capital, Jalalabad.

A US military official confirmed the operation, but said coalition soldiers killed just three militants after they came under fire, and arrested 16 more militants. The official insisted there were no civilian casualties.

President Hamid Karzai and provincial officials said last week that scores of civilians had been killed recently in coalition operations in Afghanistan.

Mr Karzai said foreign troops would fail in Afghanistan unless they took more care to protect non-combatants while hunting the Taliban.

Nearly 300 civilians have been killed in operations led by foreign forces, according to government officials and residents. Scores more have been killed in Taliban suicide and roadside bomb attacks.

Afghanistan is going through its bloodiest period since the Taliban's fall, and this year is regarded as a crunch time for all sides involved in the conflict.