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Factional fighting in northern Afghanistan leaves one dead
Kabul, July 29: Rival factions in northern Afghanistan traded small arms fire in a five-hour battle that left one combatant dead, a senior commander said today.
Kabul, July 29: Rival factions in northern Afghanistan traded small arms fire in a five-hour battle that left one combatant dead, a senior commander said today.
The fighting between forces loyal to northern warlord
Abdul Rashid Dostum and those of his main rival, Atta
Mohammed, took place yesterday in Samangan province's
Dar-e-Suf district, said Gen. Abdul Sabor, one of Mohammed's
senior lieutenants.
One of Mohammed's commanders was killed in the clash, but no other casualties were reported, Sabor said.
The area was reported quiet today.
Violence pitting Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek, against Mohammed, an ethnic Tajik, has plagued much of northern Afghanistan over the last year. President Hamid Karzai's government, its influence largely limited to the capital, has been hard-pressed to stop the fighting.
Another round of clashes in Dar-e-Suf earlier this month left four fighters dead and three wounded.
Meanwhile, Sabor said the national carrier, Ariana, had suspended flights from Kabul to the northern capital, Mazar-e-Sharif, after unconfirmed reports that a gunman fired shots at an Ariana plane taking off from Mazar-e-Sharif on Friday.
Sabor said the pilot claimed two bullets struck the plane, which later landed safely at Kabul airport. Ariana flies to Mazar-e-Sharif twice-weekly.
Bureau Report
One of Mohammed's commanders was killed in the clash, but no other casualties were reported, Sabor said.
The area was reported quiet today.
Violence pitting Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek, against Mohammed, an ethnic Tajik, has plagued much of northern Afghanistan over the last year. President Hamid Karzai's government, its influence largely limited to the capital, has been hard-pressed to stop the fighting.
Another round of clashes in Dar-e-Suf earlier this month left four fighters dead and three wounded.
Meanwhile, Sabor said the national carrier, Ariana, had suspended flights from Kabul to the northern capital, Mazar-e-Sharif, after unconfirmed reports that a gunman fired shots at an Ariana plane taking off from Mazar-e-Sharif on Friday.
Sabor said the pilot claimed two bullets struck the plane, which later landed safely at Kabul airport. Ariana flies to Mazar-e-Sharif twice-weekly.
Bureau Report