Afghan army backed by international forces in a joint operation on Thursday evening killed eight Taliban militants including three commanders in western Afghan province of Farah, an army official said on Friday.
Ghulam Farooq Nahimi, a commander of Afghan National Army in Farah province told Xinhua that the joint forces raided a house in Shagai village of Bakwa district after receiving reliable intelligence reports that a group of Taliban insurgents were having meeting there.
"The combine forces surrounded the house belonging to Taliban commander Mullah Faizullah and engaged with militants," Nahimi said. "Two other Taliban commander Mullah Barialai and Mullah Turialai were also killed in the fighting."
The army official confirmed that the combined forces asked for air strike assistance in the battle killing five other suspected Taliban militants and two civilians, wife and son of Mullah Faizullah.
"Two other civilians were wounded in the fire fight," he added.
However, the Taliban militants have yet to make any comment.
Meanwhile, one soldier with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed and four more were wounded in southern Afghanistan on Thursday during an attack from insurgents, said an ISAF statement released here on Friday.
Nevertheless, it did not disclose the nationality of the victims in light of ISAF policy.
Taliban insurgents who staged a violent comeback three years ago have intensified their activities targeting Afghan and international troops across Afghanistan to mount pressure on the government despite around 70,000 foreign troops stationed in the war-torn country vowing to keep peace and help reconstruction here.
Conflicts and spiraling insurgency have claimed the lives of over 3,200 people so far this year.
Source:Xinhua
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