9 army soldiers, 13 insurgents killed in western Afghan clash

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FARAH, Afghanistan, Oct. 25, 2017 (BSS/XINHUA) – A total of nine Afghan soldiers and 13 Taliban insurgents were killed after an overnight clash in Farah province, west of Afghanistan, a provincial government spokesman said Wednesday.

“Several militants attacked an army checkpoint in Pusht Rod district, but the army personnel fought back the attackers,” spokesman Mohammad Naser Mehri told Xinhua, adding during the clashes nine army soldiers and 13 militants were killed.

Among the killed militants were two local Taliban commanders, Mehri said, adding that four soldiers and several militants were also wounded during the fighting in the province bordering Iran.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since April when the militant group launched its annual rebel offensive in different places of the country.

Scores of security forces and civilians were killed and wounded in a series of attacks by Taliban and Islamic State (IS) fighters over the past two weeks.