Clash leaves 16 dead including 7 security personnel in Afghanistan

SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people including nine insurgents and seven security personnel have been killed in a clash between Afghan security forces and the Taliban in northern Jawzjan province on Sunday, a local official said.

The clash erupted early Sunday in Aqcha district when Taliban militants stormed a checkpoint on the road linking Jawzjan to neighbor Balkh province, district governor Ghulam Sakhi Subhani said.

If reinforcement was not to arrive, militants would dynamite a key bridge that links Jawzjan with Balkh and Sari Pul provinces, he warned.

Taliban militants are yet to make comment on the clash.