At least 50 Taliban, seven police killed in Afghanistan

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

KABUL (AFP) — Afghan troops recovered the bodies of 34 Taliban-linked fighters after a fierce clash in southern Afghanistan Thursday, the defence ministry said, while police said the final toll was double that.

Fifteen Taliban and seven policemen were killed separately in other attacks, with violence linked to a nearly seven-year-long Taliban-led insurgency surging in recent weeks.

The clash erupted after "enemy elements" attacked Afghan forces in Zabul province on the main road between the capital Kabul and the southern city of Kandahar, defence ministry spokesman Mohammed Zahir Azimi told AFP.

"A fierce battle started and the enemy were caught between the Afghan army on both sides," Azimi said. "At least 34 enemy dead bodies are at the battlefield but we...