NOTE THE PARENTHETICAL:

29 Taliban killed in clashes, bombing in southern Afghanistan (Associated Press, February 28, 2008)

Insurgents ambushed the drug eradication force Wednesday in Marja district of Helmand province, killing one police officer and wounding two, said Gen. Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, the provincial police chief.

Police launched an attack afterward, killing 25 Taliban fighters, including a senior regional militant commander, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. [...]

Separately, four militants died and another was wounded Thursday when the roadside bomb they were planting on a road in Helmand exploded prematurely, Andiwal said. Militants regularly target Afghan and foreign troops with roadside bombs, though many civilians are killed by the blasts.

Last year was the deadliest in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. More than 6,500 people -- mostly militants -- were killed in insurgency-related violence, according to an Associated Press count.