12 suspected militants killed in Afghanistan airstrikes

Kabul: US coalition troops says they have killed over a dozen militants in airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan.

The coalition says in a statement the strikes targeted insurgents linked to a militant leader Siraj Haqqani, in Khost province.

It says airstrike hit bunkers overnight Monday.The militants use the inhospitable terrain of eastern Afghanistan as a base for operations and its porous border with Pakistan as a major transit route into the country.

The command center of Haqqani's network is believed to be in Pakistan's tribal areas.

The Obama administration has declared eliminating militant havens in Pakistan vital to its goals of defeating Al Qaida and winning the war in Afghanistan.