LASHKARGAH (PAN): Twenty-four insurgents were killed in clashes with Afghan security forces in the troubled Sangin district of southern Helmand province, taking the death toll for rebels in a week to 100, an official said on Monday.
The latest clashes broke out in the Heratian area late on Sunday, the governor’s spokesman, Omar Zwak, told Pajhwok Afghan News. He said militants’ bodies lay at the scene after the clash that left another 16 rebels and one policeman injured.
Zwak said the area had been cleared of fighters two days ago, but the Taliban regrouped there to show their presence. On Monday, Afghan forces attacked boats ferrying Taliban militants to Sangin from Musa Qala area across the Helmand River.
All those onboard were killed, said Zwak, without giving an exact figure.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi acknowledged the death of only one fighter, claiming 14 Afghan security men were killed and 11 others wounded during clashes in Sarwan Kala area.
Local officials say around 1,000 Taliban began attacking Afghan forces a week ago, and 100 of them have so far been killed in clashes with security forces.