KABUL, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Taliban insurgents attacked three combat posts used by Afghan and U.S. forces in southeastern Afghanistan on Monday, August 9, the U.S. military said, with the Taliban later claiming to have overrun two of the outposts.
A U.S. military spokesman said the fighting had ended and that seven of the attackers had been killed. Four U.S. troops and one Afghan soldier were wounded and a battle-damage assesment was underway, he said without giving further detail.
Sergeant Stephanie Widemond, another U.S. military spokeswoman, earlier said it was not clear how many militants were involved and gave no details about the type of the strikes in Paktika province, which lies near the border with Pakistan.
A resurgent Taliban have staged many commando-style strikes, often involving suicide bombers, against Afghan and foreign bases and other key targets in the past two years.
In a telephone text message, a man describing himself as Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Islamist group had overrun two posts, killed six foreign soldiers and four Afghans.
The Taliban lost two fighters in the clashes, he said in the message, adding that fighting was continuing in Paktika.
Afghan and foreign forces are engaged in a propaganda battle with the Taliban to win the hearts and minds of Afghan civilians, with claims and counter-claims made.
Removed by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in 2001, the Taliban have regrouped in recent years and have inflicted heavy losses on Afghan and foreign troops despite the presence of some 140,000 foreign soldiers under the command of NATO and the U.S. military.
June was by far the deadliest month for foreign forces in nearly 10 years of war in Afghanistan, with civilian casualties also reaching record levels.
Also on Monday, the U.S. military said two U.S. Marines were killed during a prisoner escape attempt in the south on Saturday.
The prisoner escaped from a room where he was praying, grabbed a rifle and began shooting at Afghan and coalition forces, the military said in a statement.
The two Marines were killed while trying to subdue the prisoner, who was later shot and killed.
