Roundup: Clash leaves 28 killed in W. Afghanistan

Clash between security forces and Taliban militants have claimed the lives of 28 people including a civilian in the western Herat and Farah provinces since Thursday night, officials said on Friday.

In the lastest fighting, which occurred in Herat province, with Herat city as its capital, 11 people including 10 insurgents were killed, police said.

"More than 80 Taliban militants launched a coordinated offensive on police checkpoints in Nizan area of Pashtun Zarghon district, Herat province early on Friday and police retaliated, as a result, 10 rebels and a civilian have been killed and eight others including three Taliban group commanders sustained injuries, " district police chief Ghulam Sakhi Hussain told Xinhua.

No security personnel has been harmed in the clash which is still continuing, the official added.

Meanwhile, Herat provincial police chief Abdul Majid Rozi has confirmed the clash in Pashtun Zarghon district, saying security personnel have surrounded militants and trying to kill or capture the besieged insurgents.

In a similar incident, Afghan forces engaged with Taliban militants in Balablock district of Herat's neighboring Farah province overnight killing 17 militants and injuring six others, an army spokesman in the province Abdul Rauf Rahmani said.

"Security force targeted the hideouts of armed enemies in Balablock district on Thursday night and killed 17 rebels on the spot, besides injuring six others," Rahmani told reporters.

Taliban militants who have opened several fronts against government forces in different provinces have yet to make comment.

Meanwhile, Taliban militants who captured the northern Kunduz city on Sept. 29 are still continuing sporadic fightings against security forces in parts of the strategically important city the capital of Kunduz province which borders Tajikistan. Endi