13 Taliban rebels killed in Afghan clashes

The clash occurred on Sunday night in the orchards of the village of Hawasa in southern Helmand province's Gereshk district.

Police clashed with suspected Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan, leaving 13 militants dead and four wounded, an official said on Monday.

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The clash occurred on Sunday night in the orchards of the village of Hawasa in southern Helmand province's Gereshk district, said Ghulam Nabil Malakheil, the provincial police chief.

Police recovered the dead militants' bodies, including that of Mullah Mohammed Akhunzada, a known Taliban commander, Malakheil said. The insurgents took the wounded with them.

The officers also recovered 12 AK-47 assault rifles, three heavy machine-guns and six rocket-propelled grenades, he said.

Separately, two police were killed and their vehicle destroyed when they were attacked by a roadside bomb on Sunday morning in the same district, said Ghulam Muhiddin, the Helmand governor spokesman.