11 Taliban killed in south Afghanistan: official

Eleven Taliban soldiers have been killed and three others including a high-rank commander arrested in Afghanistan's southern province of Zabul, provincial spokesperson said Monday.

"A four-hour firefight between Afghan forces and Taliban broke out at about 2 p.m. local time in Arghandab district of Zabul, and we killed 11 Taliban militants and arrested three including a high- rank Taliban commander Abdul Rahman," Gulab Shah Alikhil told Xinhua.

"During the attack, one of our officers was also killed and two soldiers injured," Alikhil added.

Alikhil also said these Taliban soldiers entered Afghanistan from the border with Pakistan, and civilians of Arghandab district had complained of the existence of Taliban militants in the area who disturbed the common life of the local persons.

Ousted from power in 2001, Taliban has raised another surge of attack against civilian and military targets as the weather gets warmer. A Muslim leader was killed by two militants in another southern province of Kandahar Sunday afternoon.

Two attacks including a rocket attack and a bomb explosion against International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) happened Monday, leaving at least eight persons injured in Afghan capital Kabul.

Source: Xinhua