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AFGHANISTAN-MILITANCY
2 police, 14 militants killed in N. Afghan fighting
AYBAK, Afghanistan, Sept 27, 2020 (BSS/XINHUA) – Two police officers and 14 Taliban militants were killed when fighting flared up in Afghanistan’s northern Samangan province during Saturday night, a provincial police spokesman confirmed Sunday.
“The clashes began after militants armed with guns and propelled grenades attacked security checkpoints in surrounding areas of Dara-i-Suf Payyan and the neighboring Feruz Nakhcher districts. The Afghan Air Force, in accordance with active defense course of action, also supported the ground forces to defeat the militants,” spokesman Munir Rahimi told Xinhua.
The police official said 12 militants were wounded during the fighting, and the dead bodies were on the ground when the remaining militants fled to nearby hills.
Local villagers and the Afghan Red Crescent Society personnel usually collect the bodies of the militants after clashes to identify and hand over the bodies to relatives.
Violence lingers in the war-torn country even as peace talks between an Afghan government delegation and Taliban representatives are being held in Doha, capital of Gulf state of Qatar.
The Taliban militants have been trying to overrun small towns or districts across Afghanistan and consolidate their position.
BSS/XINHUA/SSS/1439 hrs