Militants stormed a town in northern Afghanistan on Thursday, launching a multi-pronged assault that sparked heavy clashes with security forces and prevented polling stations from opening, police said.
“Terrorists attacked from several directions. Fighting has been going on since morning,” provincial police chief Mohammad Kabir Andarabi said on telephone from Baghlan.
“Now, as we speak, the enemy has been pushed back. We have killed 22 terrorists. Most of their bodies are left on the ground,” he added.
Another police official confirmed the attack but had initial reports that only six “Taliban” were killed.
Baghlan is a small town on the highway between Pul-i-Khumri, the capital of the eponymous province, and Kunduz province. Baghlan province is largely Pashtun but is Tajik-dominated.