Kandahar, Afghanistan: Up to 71 Taliban rebels and five Afghan police and soldiers have been confirmed killed in a major clash in southern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday. The battle erupted late Saturday after scores of Taliban attacked volatile Panjwayi district in Kandahar province, the birthplace of the movement that has been waging an insurgency since being removed from government in late 2001.
"We have 35 Taliban bodies in Panjwayi town and 11 out of the town," district governor Niaz Mohammad Sarhadi told AFP.
Another 25 bodies were found in nearby Sperwan village, he said.
The defence ministry in the capital said it could confirm only 60 bodies had been found in Panjwayi town and Sperwan.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force that was involved in the operation said it had been told by Afghan security forces that between 60 and 70 Taliban were killed.
An Afghan soldier and four policemen were also killed in the five-hour battle, Afghan security forces said.
Global Defence News
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