3 militants killed in Ghazni firefight

GHAZNI CITY (PAN): Three militants were killed and a fourth detained during a firefight with Afghan and foreign forces in southern Ghazni province, a military commander said on Thursday.

The clash was triggered by a Taliban patrol in the Akhundkhel village of Andar district, said the commander of the 203rd Thunder Corps’ 3rd Brigade.

Col. Daud Shah Wafadar told Pajhwok Afghan News that the militants’ bodies, Kalashnikov assault rifles and motorcycles lay at the scene of the overnight gunbattle.

Sher Khan Yusufzai, the district chief, confirmed the clash and casualties. He said 16 fighters were killed and 21 others arrested in Andar last week. Operations against the rebels were stepped after they closed the main district bazaar, Yusufzai added.

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