Sar-i-Pul clash leaves 8 militants dead

SAR-I-PUL (Pajhwok): Eight militants including a commander were killed and 15 others injured during a clash with security forces in northern Sar-i-Pul province, an official said on Thursday.

Deputy police chief Col. Sakhi Dad Haideri told Pajhwok Afghan News the dead included an insurgent commander named Sibghatullah Rouhani. He said the clash erupted after a group of 18 fighters attacked security forces near the provincial capital.

Haideri added one Afghan Local Police member was killed and another wounded during the engagement. Led by Mullah Khal Mohammed, the militants had recently joined the peace process.

Noor Habib Gulbahari, the police chief, said: “The armed group wanted to target the forces after its failure to disturb the reconciliation effort and suffered the casualties…”

He added the Taliban fled the area after Afghan National Army soldiers reached the scene to support police. Five villages had been cleared of militants, he said.

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