Taliban commander killed in Badakhshan

FAIZABAD/PUL-I-KHUMRI (PAN commander was killed during a clash with Afghan forces in the capital of northeastern Badakhshan province, officials said on Thursday, while the Taliban claimed killing seven policemen in northern Baghlan.

The Taliban commander was killed in Jurm district late on Wednesday, police chief Col. Syed Jahangir Kiramat told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The clash broke out when the police arrived in the area to clear a road the Taliban had blocked against traffic. Five insurgents and two policemen were wounded in the skirmish, he said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the fighters had blocked the Jurm-Yamgan road over the past two days.

He added 18 police vehicles were attacked when they were passing the area, accusing Afghan forces of destroying some bridges to prevent the Taliban from advancing.

But Kiramat rejected Mujahid’s claim, saying the insurgents had been defeated and forced into fleeing the area.

Mujahid also claimed seven policemen, including a commander, were killed and three others wounded during a separate attack in Chahar Shanba Tapa area in Baghlan-i-Markazi district of Baghlan province.

However, the district police chief dismissed the claim, saying no policeman had been killed as a result of the attack.

mds/ma

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