BAGHDAD — Hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi forces backed by helicopters and jets attacked and killed 33 Sunni insurgents who were holding back the water supply to the Shiite town of Khalis, the American command said in a statement today.

The assault began before dawn on Monday when a joint force was landed by helicopter in the village of Gubbiya, 10 miles east of Khalis. The assault force killed 13 fighters and attack aircraft killed 20 others, the military said. The area is known to be controlled by al-Qaida in Iraq. Khalis, 50 miles north of Baghdad, has been the scene of repeated Sunni insurgent bombings and mortar attacks.

"The objective of the mission was to open the spillway, which regulates water flow to the town of Khalis, restoring the essential service of water," the statement said.

In Fallujah, the Sunni city 40 miles west of Baghdad, mourners buried 11 victims of a mosque suicide bombing Monday night.

GHAZNI, Afghanistan — The Taliban agreed today to free 19 South Korean church volunteers held hostage since July after the government in Seoul pledged to end all missionary work and keep a promise to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year.The Taliban originally seized 23 South Koreans, but have since killed two of the hostages and released two others. They had initially demanded the withdrawal of South Korean troops from the country and the release of prisoners in exchange for freeing the hostages, but Afghan officials had ruled out any exchange, saying it would only encourage further kidnappings.Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said South Korean and Taliban delegates at face-to-face talks today in the central town of Ghazni had "reached an agreement" to free the captives.South Korea has already said it planned to withdraw its troops by the end of the year. Some 200 South Korean soldiers have been deployed in Afghanistan for reconstruction efforts, not combat.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The operators of the hot air balloon that caught fire in a spectacular crash that killed a mother and daughter have suspended operations as authorities investigate the accident, a company official said.Fantasy Balloon Charters is waiting for Canada's Transportation Safety Board to determine how a fire broke out at sunset Friday in the gondola of the balloon, said John Kageorge, a crew member at Fantasy.The balloon's gondola was loaded with a dozen passengers and a pilot when a fire broke out. Officials said the balloon broke free from its moorings and rose into the air as most of those aboard jumped to the ground. The balloon exploded in a fireball and shot up even higher, before crashing into a trailer park.Shannon Knacksted and her daughter, Gemma, died after being unable to jump out, said Knacksted's sister Camellia Rogers. But all others in the basket survived, including Knacksted's husband and their other daughter, Justine, who was hospitalized.Rogers said the family was celebrating Justine's 27th birthday and Shannon's 50th, both in August.