By Hamid Shalizi
KABUL (Reuters) - U.S-led and Afghan forces killed morethan 15 insurgents in a search for hundreds of prisoners,including Taliban, who broke out of jail after comrades blew upthe gates, the U.S. military said on Sunday.
The jailbreak in the southern city of Kandahar after darkon Friday came as violence has been intensifying in Afghanistandespite the growing numbers of foreign troops supporting thegovernment.
The U.S. military said coalition forces searching forprisoners used air strikes west of Rawonay, Kandahar province,on Saturday to destroy a farming compound after insurgentsattacked with small-arms fire. More than 15 insurgents werekilled.
A large cache of munitions and bomb-making material werediscovered during the search and five suspects were taken intocustody, it said.
It was not confirmed if those killed or detained had beenprisoners from the Kandahar jail. Kandahar is the birth placeand the main stronghold of the Taliban who were ousted frompower in 2001.
Afghan authorities have launched an investigation to findout if any government officials were involved in the"unprecedented" jailbreak which began when a suicide bomberdrove a truck-bomb into the jail gate and blew it up.
Several dozen Taliban, armed with rocket-propelled grenadesand rifles, then stormed the mud-built compound and freed theprisoners.
About 1,000 inmates were in the prison, including 400Taliban, and nearly all of them escaped, said officials whodeclined to be identified. The government has confirmed thatTaliban were among those who escaped but did not say how many.
A politician said 15 policemen were killed in the assaulton the prison and subsequent clashes.
Some Taliban field commanders were among those who escaped,a politician from Kandahar said while a Taliban spokesman saidall Taliban prisoners had reached "safe destinations".
Separately, coalition forces killed several insurgents inground and air strikes in the Garmser district of neighbouringHelmand province on Saturday, the U.S. military said.
The operation was targeting a Taliban leader and a smugglerresponsible for bringing weapons into the area. it said.
(Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Robert Birsel andSanjeev Miglani)
