KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, July 20 (Xinhua) -- At least eight police personnel and 18 Taliban militants have been killed in two separate clashes in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz, authorities said Friday.
In one incident, eight Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel and 10 Taliban militants were killed since militants armed with guns and heavy weapons attacked ALP checkpoints in Imamuddin neighborhood of Imam Sahib district late Thursday night, district Governor Mahbubullah Sayyedi told Xinhua.
Some 10 ALP policemen and 12 militants were wounded during the gunfight lasting for hours and reinforcement troops were dispatched to the area in the district bordering Tajikistan, the governor added.
The Afghan government established the ALP, or community police, in 2010 to protect villages and districts around the country where army and police have limited presence.
Elsewhere in the restive province, eight Taliban militants were killed following clashes during an ongoing cleanup operation in neighboring Chardara district, Inhamuddin Rahmani, the provincial police spokesman, told Xinhua.
The operation will continue before all the insecure areas in Chardara are cleared of the militants, he added.
Earlier on Friday, villagers hold a funeral for 13 civilians who lost their lives following an airstrike reportedly conducted by the Afghan air force in Chardara on Thursday.
The Kunduz province, as well as neighboring Baghlan and Takhar provinces, has been the scene of heavy clashes over the past couple of months as Taliban has been trying to challenge the government forces in the once relatively peaceful region.
