5 civilians, 13 Taliban killed in Afghanistan
Police in remote northwestern Afghanistan killed 13 Taliban fighters in a clash triggered by the killings of five civilians by the militants, police said yesterday.
The militants first shot dead a tribal elder and his wife in their home in Badghis province on Saturday because the man did not agree to collect food and money for them, provincial police chief Mohammed Ayob Niazyar said.
Three more local men were killed and five wounded when residents attacked the rebels, Niazyar told AFP. Police later arrived at the scene and another battle ensued.
"Thirteen of the Taliban have been killed and seven of them were injured in a clash when police arrived at the area," he said.
The fighting took place in Muqur district, which is on the border with Turkmenistan.
Earlier President Hamid Karzai has condemned a US operation he says killed 16 Afghan civilians, while hundreds of villagers denounced the American military during an angry demonstration.
Comments