LOC11:55
08:55 GMT
KABUL, May 6 (KUNA) -- A roadside bomb explosion and a clash between
Taliban militants and Afghan police left at least 24 people dead and several
injured in southern and western parts of Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday.
Taliban and the local police issued conflicting claims about a clash that
erupted Saturday in the country's western Farah province and continued for six
hours.
Police chief of the province Syed Agha Saqeb said their men had eliminated
17 Taliban fighters. However, only four Taliban bodies were found at the scene
of the fighting. He confirmed the killing of four policemen in the gun-battle.
Taliban, on the other hand, said only three of their men were killed in the
firefight.
The militia's spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, said they had killed 15
policemen in the ambush and an ensuing battle.
Afghanistan's Farah province is bordering the restive Helmand, where
Taliban and Afghan and NATO troops have been engaged in skirmishes and
fighting since the beginning of the spring season (latter half of March).
Separately, five Afghan policemen were perished when their vehicle was
blown up with a remote-controlled landmine in Ghazni province, located some 40
kilometers south of Kabul.
A local official, who did not want to be named, confirmed the bomb blast
and the police casualties.
The official said the blast took place in Maqur district Sunday morning.
The victims were guarding workers of a road construction company.(end)
gk.hm
KUNA 061155 May 07NNNN