U.S. Airstrikes Hit Afghan Taliban

The U.S. military launched airstrikes in the Sangin district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province, which has been under Taliban siege, the Agence France-Presse reported Thursday. The move was reportedly to bolster Afghan forces scrambling to beat back Taliban fighters who had seized large amounts of the opium-rich district, following an initial British deployment to the area more than a year ago. The U.S. conducted the airstrikes Wednesday to reinforce Afghan units and to relieve security forces holed up in the district itself.