Nineteen including policemen and Taliban militants were killed, at least 23 were injured Friday in several attacks launched by Taliban in Afghan southern province of Helmand, a local official said.

"This morning at about 7 a.m. local time (02:30 GMT) my convoy came under ambush by Taliban militants in Sangin district. We called additional forces for help, and they were ambushed by militants also," the deputy governor of Helmand Mullah Mir told Xinhua.

"The firefight broke out in four areas of the district. Till now, 16 Taliban were killed, more than 10 others injured. On our side, three Afghan soldiers were killed, 13 others injured," he said, adding, "about 200 Taliban militants were involved in the fighting, and the firefight is still going on."

Helmand, together with Kandahar, Zabul and Uruzgan, the former stronghold of Taliban, has become the hotspot of the militancy. In the two suicide attacks on Jan. 16 in Kandahar, more than 20 persons were killed and more than 30 others injured with most of them civilians.

After the successive attacks, Afghan police have adopted new security measures to safeguard the situation. About 17 persons have been arrested in the recent searching operations including 10 foreigners in charge of having links with al-Qaida or planning to launch suicide attacks.

Source: Xinhua