Helmand, Logar violence claims 22 lives

LASHKARGHA/PUL-I-ALAM (Pajhwok): At least 22 people — mostly militants — were killed and dozens, including policemen, injured in a fresh bout of violence in southern Helmand and central Logar provinces, officials said on Wednesday.

Eleven militants and a policeman were killed and two others wounded during a gunbattle in Mirandab, Haidarabad and Zambeli localities of Helmand, police spokesman Abdul Ahad Chopan told Pajhwok Afghan News. 

Separately, the wife of the Nawzad district chief was killed and another member of her family wounded in a militant attack. Chopan said family members of the district police chief were heading to Lashkargah when they came under attack.

Elsewhere, eight militants and an Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier were killed during clashes in Logar province, said the governor spokesman, Din Mohammad Darwish. The gun battle erupted when rebels stormed a security check-post in Charkh district.

Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yusuf Ahmadi rejected the claim of casualties among militants, saying 11 ANA soldiers had been killed and six others wounded in clashes with the fighters.

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