Raid, strike kill 15 insurgents in Afghanistan: NATO

KABUL (Reuters) - At least 15 insurgents were killed in a NATO raid and air strike targeting a Taliban commander overnight in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Monday.

Afghan and ISAF forces killed four insurgents in clashes during an initial raid in southern Helmand province and later called in air strikes, killing 11 more insurgents as they approached in vehicles, ISAF said.

"A group of heavily armed insurgents in three vehicles and six motorcycles approached the joint security force at high speed in an apparent attempt to engage the force," the statement said.

U.S. Captain Ryan Donald, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said he had heard allegations of civilian casualties but they had not been backed up by reports.

Six insurgents were also detained, ISAF said. It was not clear if the commander who was the target of the raid was among the dead or prisoners.

A spokesman for the provincial governor said initial reports showed up to 25 militants may have died, including two Taliban commanders.

Foreign forces in Afghanistan have stepped up the use of air strikes in recent months since General David Petraeus took control of U.S. and NATO-led troops in the summer, as they try to go after mid-level insurgent commanders.

Many of those air strikes have also caused civilian casualties and have fueled tension between President Hamid Karzai and his Western allies, who are under increasing pressure at home over the unpopular war.

UP TO 25 MILITANTS DEAD: SPOKESMAN

Dawood Ahmadi, spokesman for the governor of Helmand, said initial reports from intelligence officials showed up to 25 militants were killed, including two commanders.

"We have had no reports of civilian casualties but we are still investigating," said Ahmadi, adding the raid had taken place in Baghran district, a remote area in the north of the province where there was no government presence.

On Friday, ISAF carried out an air strike in the same district targeting a Taliban leader. That strike "reportedly killed several insurgents," ISAF had said.

Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since the overthrow of the Taliban in late 2001 with rising casualties on all sides of the conflict.

The total number of foreign troop deaths reached 600 for 2010, with the announcement on Monday of another dead ISAF service member in the east. With more than two months to go, this year is already the bloodiest of the war.

A total of 521 troops died in all of 2009. That figure, however, still lags far behind the casualty rate for ordinary Afghans as civilians get increasingly caught up in the crossfire.

A mid-year report released by the United Nations showed civilian casualties had risen by 31 percent over the first six months of 2010, compared with the same period last year. That figure included 1,271 killed.

(Reporting by Patrick Markey and Jonathon Burch, writing by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Ron Popeski)