Casualties as forces, Taliban clash in Ghazni

GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): Security forces and Taliban militants clashed in the Qarah Bagh district of southern Ghazni province on Wednesday morning, with both sides claiming to have inflicted casualties on the other.

Mohammad Hanif Razai, the 203 Thunder Military Corps spokesman in Ghazni, told Pajhwok Afghan News the clash broke out in Abdullah Gul area of the district.

He said four Taliban fighters were killed and half a dozen were wounded in the clash that left one ANA soldier wounded.

He said the attack had been repulsed and the security forces had seized six landmines and other weapons.

A resident of Abdullah Gul area, Izzatullah, said the clash between police and Taliban gunmen lasted two to three hours.

He said security forces had cordoned off the area and were not allowing people to get close the clash site.

The Taliban also confirmed the clash, with the group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujajid, claiming that the fighters stormed a police post and killed five policemen.

He said the rebels suffered no casualties in the incident. He said the police post had been destroyed.

Separate, police had arrested a Taliban official, Asad Kuchai, responsible for guerrilla attacks, during an operation in Ghazni City, the provincial capital, last night.

Ghazni police chief Brig. Gen. Aminullah Amarkhel said Kuchai had been involved in the killing of a number of police officials in Ghazni.

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