Five Taliban militants killed

At least 5 Taliban militants were killed and six others injured in a gunfight with the police in southern Afghan province of Zabul, officials said.

At least five Taliban militants were killed and six injured on Friday in a gunfight with the police in southern Afghan province of Zabul, officials said Friday.

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The incident took place at 1 a.m. A group of insurgents attacked the office of the district chief in Shinkay in Zabul Province. The police have killed the militants in a gunfight, Shinkay district chief, Barat Khan, said.

Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, who claimed to be a spokesman for the Taliban, told Xinhua from an unknown location over telephone that his group took the responsibility.

He said five of their fighters and seven policemen were killed in the gunfight.

Afghanistan's southern provinces have been the scene of violence in the recent past with Taliban insurgents carrying out several attacks on the security forces in the region.