Sar-i-Pul clashes leave 5 dead, 10 wounded

SAR-I-PUL (Pajhwok): One security man and four insurgents were killed and another three security men and seven rebels were wounded during separate clashes in northe Sar-i-Pul province, the goveor said on Saturday.

Mohammad Zahir Wahdat told a press conference here that four Taliban fighters were killed and seven others wounded during a security operation in Shiram locality of Sar-i-Pul city. He said seven villages were also cleared of insurgents as a result of the operation.

After the operation, he said, the rebels stormed security check posts in Sozma Qala district, killing one security persoel and injuring three others. Two military vehicles were also destroyed during the ensuing clash.

However, Syedullah Danish, deputy provincial council head, said two military tanks and many security check points and some ammunition fell into hands of insurgents during the attack.

The Taliban confirmed the clash in Sozma Qala, with the group’s spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, claiming the rebels seized two tanks, two mortars, a machinegun and other ammunition.

sns/ma