Taliban kill 30, abduct 10 Afghans - lawmaker

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/DEL126676.htm

Taliban kill 30, abduct 10 Afghans - lawmaker

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 19 (Reuters) - Taliban guerrillas have killed more than 30 people and abducted 10 in southern Afghanistan, a parliamentarian said on Monday, the latest attack in the bloodiest phase of violence in nearly five years.

The killings happened in two separate ambushes in the restive province of Helmand on Sunday, said Dad Mohammad Khan, a member of the upper house and an ex-spy chief for Helmand who lost two brothers and a son in the attacks.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks in the south ahead of NATO taking over from U.S. forces, and coalition troops have launched their biggest offensive, since the 2001 invasion, to crush the rebels and cut off their supply routes.

The U.S. military said it had killed two Taliban guerrillas and captured five on Sunday in Zabul province. The open-ended operation has killed about 100 militants in recent days.