Local Taliban leader killed in NE Afghanistan

Districts of Badakhshan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, April 6 (Xinhua) -- A local Taliban leader was killed on Friday by police in Afghan Badakhshan province, 315 km northeast of capital Kabul, a spokesman of provincial government said.

"Police launched a search operation to capture a Taliban local leader in Wardoj district, but upon their arrival at a compound, a gunfight erupted resulting in the killing of a Taliban leader named Qari Shamsuddin,"spokesman Abdul Maruf Rasikh told Xinhua.

He added a bodyguard of the Taliban leader was also killed but no policeman was injured in the raid.

Three policemen were killed following a Taliban attack on a police checkpoint on Wednesday in Wardoj district in the mountainous province.

Taliban militants have yet to confirm the death of their leader.

Afghan forces and some 130,000 NATO-led coalition troops have recently intensified cleanup operations against Taliban and other militant groups across the country as spring and summer, known as "fighting season" draw near.

Posted in: Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, Badakhshan Province, FAIZABAD, NATO, Taliban