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Afghan battles kill 10 militants, Taliban attack jail

13 August 2014 17:40 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Clashes between Taliban militants and Afghan security forces have left 10 insurgents dead in the eastern Ghazni province, while Taliban militants attacked the prison in the northern Jauzjan province on Wednesday, officials said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The security forces, according to a local official, stormed Taliban hideout in Gero district of Ghazni province Wednesday morning leaving 10 insurgents dead.

"Units of security forces raided Taliban militants' hideout in Gero district Wednesday morning as a result 10 rebels including their commander Mawlawi Deen Mohammad were killed," spokesman for Ghazni provincial administration Shafiq Nang told Xinhua.

He also said that three more militants sustained injuries during the operations.

However, Nang didn't say if there were any casualties on the security personnel.

Meantime, Zabihullah Mujahid who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit in talks with media via telephone from unknown location claimed that the militants during operations injured four soldiers in Gero's neighboring Waghaz district. But he didn't comment on clash in Gero.

Taliban purported spokesman Mujahid also claimed capturing seven police checkpoints in Chardara district of the northern Kunduz province on Wednesday, a claim rejected by Chardara district governor Zalmai Farooqi as mere propaganda.

However, Farooqi confirmed that local police have evacuated four checkpoints in Chardara district without any conflict.

Taliban militants attacked the Shibergan jail in the northern Jauzjan province triggering gun battle on Wednesday, but the police were able to re-arrest the detainees and bring the situation under control, police said.

"The police were going to shift 20 Taliban detainees and criminals from Shibergan jail to the Kabul's main prison Pul-e- Charkhi today morning when a Taliban detainee empowered a guard of the jail and snatched his weapon leaving other detainees to run away and take weapons," deputy to provincial police chief Sayed Amanudin Hussaini told Xinhua.

However, commandant of the prison, Sayed Omar Naebzada in talks with newsmen said that the clash begun at 11:30 a.m. local time and was over at 02:00 p.m. local time during which all those involved in the mutiny and clash were recaptured.

Naebzada also said that the Taliban militants during the gun battle had set on fire the logistic department of the jail, the clinic of the jail and also a gate of the jail.

The police were able to bring the situation under control and recapture all the 20 detainees who had tried to escape, Naebzada asserted.