Twenty Taliban fighters and two local commanders of a public uprising group were killed during a gun-battle in Afghanistan’s southern province of Ghazni, members of the anti-rebel movement said on Sunday. The clash erupted at around 3am after a group of heavily armed insurgents attacked checkpoints established by the tribesmen in the Andar district, killing two commanders – Mastana and Qahraman – of the uprising group, and injuring three other tribesmen, a commander of the group, Haibat Khan, told Afghan media. Twenty Taliban, including eight Punjabis and four Waziristanis, were killed as the uprising members retaliated, he said, adding that the clash ended at 6.30am. “The Taliban killed two tribal elders and seized some others,” he added. A Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said two commanders of the uprising group and eight militiamen were killed and four others were injured when the fighters attacked five checkpoints of the tribal militia. The rebels captured three checkpoints, he added.
