A spokesman for the provincial governor says a ferocious gun battle between the Afghan army and Taliban insurgents in western Farah province has left six Afghan soldiers dead and 12 Taliban killed.
The Latest on violence in Afghanistan (all times local) :
10: 10 a.m.
A spokesman for the provincial governor says a ferocious gun battle between the Afghan army and Taliban insurgents in western Farah province has left six Afghan soldiers dead and 12 Taliban killed.
The battle Friday occurred after Taliban insurgents stormed a compound of the Afghan National Security Force in Pusht Rod district. The fighting continued for five hours, spokesman Mohammad Naser Mehri said.
A Taliban statement meanwhile claimed a victory and said 16 Afghan soldiers were killed. Taliban have in the past exaggerated their successes and the remoteness of the area made it impossible to independently verify.
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9: 20 a.m.
The governor of Afghanistan’s northern Badakshan’s province says 11 police have been killed and another six wounded during a roaring battle with Taliban insurgents.
Ahmad Faisal Bigzad says another 20 members of a local police force in the remote region of Tagab are missing following Friday’s firefight. It wasn’t immediately clear if they had been kidnapped or whether they had escaped.
Bigzad says the area of the fighting is tucked inside a mountainous region where access is restricted and even telephone contact is erratic.
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