15 militants killed, 8 wounded in Garmser gunbattle

LASKARGAH (Pajhwok): At least 15 Taliban insurgents have been killed and eight others wounded during a clash in the Garmser district of southe Helmand province, an official said on Saturday.

Omar Zwak, the goveor’s spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan New the insurgents suffered casualties when they attacked security posts in the Banadar area of the district late on Friday.

The security persoel initially retreated but later launched an operation against the militants and killed 15 of them and wounded eight others.

The bodies of slain rebels were still lying at the scene, Zwak said, adding Afghan security forces suffered no casualties.However, the Taliban claimed capturing some areas and inflicting casualties on a large number of forces.

Asecurity official, who wished to go uamed, said the Taliban conducted attacks from Khanshin district on the Banader areas of Garamsir last night.The source acknowledged the militants seized large areas of the district.

The clash is still underway in the area, where militants have blown up the house of Afghan Local Police (ALP) commander Abdullah Khan, a security post and two bridges besides blocking roads to the district centre.

Two days earlier, Garmser community council headMahboob Khan told reporters the Taliban plaed to capture security posts one by one before storming urban areas.

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