Police among 16 killed in Faryab, Kunduz

MAIMANA/KUNDUZ CITY (PAN-designated district chief and six local policemen, were killed in different security incidents in Faryab and Kunduz provinces, officials said on Sunday.

The Taliban district chief for Ghormach, Mullah Rahim, and commander Mullah Juma were killed along with seven other militants during an operation by Afghan forces in Qaisar district of Faryab province on Saturday night.

Maj. Mohammad Reza Reza, the 209^th Shaheen Military Corps spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News areas including Qashqar, Uzbekia, Bashalma and Khwaja Kinti had been cleared of the Taliban.

Some weapons and equipment were also seized during the operation, he said, adding six Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel were killed.

On the other hand, Qaisar district chief, Abdul Jamil Siddiqui, said the insurgents had torched in Bashamla village 10 residential buildings belonging to the people they accused of supporting government.

Families living in Bashamla were displaced. A resident of the area, who did not want to be named, said their houses had been set alight because some villagers were members of ALP and.

An influential man from the village, Rahmatullah, said four ALP members had been seized by Taliban and 15 others had been missed following the operation.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed 10 security personnel were killed and 12 others including three commanders wounded in clashes during the operation.

Mujahid confirmed the death of only two fighters and injuries to five others, saying 10 security posts were burnt and a large amount of weapons and equipment seized.

Elsewhere in the north, seven insurgents were killed during a clearing operation in the Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province. The ongoing offensive left five Taliban wounded and 13 villages cleared, said police spokesman, Syed Sarwar Hussaini.

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