Kabul: At least six Taliban rebels, including a commander named Fida Mohammad, have been killed in a clash with security forces while 19 have surrendered in separate incidents in Afghanistan, officials said Monday.
Two Afghan policemen were also killed Sunday night in the clash in eastern Paktika province, Xinhua quoted the interior ministry as saying.
The clash broke out when the Taliban attacked a police unit in Ghozi Khil area of Abband district, around 150 km from Kabul, the ministry said.
Police seized two vehicles and a heavy machine gun with 900 bullets after the clash.
A total of 19 Taliban led by a commander named Syed Zia Monday surrendered to the government in Chishti Sharif district of Herat province, around 640 km from Kabul, provincial governor Daud Sabah told Xinhua.
He said Syed Zia was serving as the Taliban's "shadow governor" in the district.
More than 3,000 militants have laid down arms and resumed normal life in Afghanistan over the past one year, officials said.
The Taliban did not make any comment on both the incidents.
PTI
First Published: Monday, February 13, 2012, 20:28