By Najeebullah Hazem, dpa

KABUL — At least 60 militants, 12 members of the Afghan security forces, and one civilian were killed in separate attacks across Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

Eight members of the police force and 28 Taliban fighters have died in a gun battle in the northern province of Faryab that started Friday and is still ongoing, said Ahmad Javid Bedar, the provincial governor’s spokesman.

He added that the battle began after more than 300 militants assaulted police checkpoints in Qaysar district.

“One police checkpoint fell into Taliban control, while the attackers suffered 17 injuries,” Bedar said.

Separately, one civilian and one police officer were killed, along with a bomber, in a suicide attack in the southern province of Helmand on Monday, said Omar Zwak, the provincial governor’s spokesman.

“The incident occurred in Lashkar Gah city at 11:30 a.m., when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-filled car next to a national security forces’ convoy,” Zwak said.

He said that 15 people (seven civilians and eight security personnel) were injured.

Meanwhile, 31 Taliban fighters were killed and 15 others wounded in operations launched by Afghan troops in a variety of provinces.

“The Afghan National Army conducted clearance operations in the past 24 hours against insurgents in Khost, Kandahar, Helmand, and Parwan provinces,” the Ministry of Defence reported in a statement.

Also, three soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb, the ministry said, but did not give further details about the exact location or time.

AFP Photo/Noorullah Shirzada

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