Four militants killed in N Afghanistan

Four militants including a Taliban local commander were killed in a clash in Eshkamish district of the northern Takhar province on Monday, provincial government spokesman Mohammad Jawad Hajari said.

According to the spokesperson, the clash erupted at 0200 hours local time when a group of Taliban fighters stormed a police checkpoint and police returned fire which lasted for a while, leaving four insurgents including a Taliban commander, Mullah Shah Dula, dead and three others injured, the official said.

"Militants waged an attack with assault rifles and machine guns on security checkpoints on western outskirts of provincial capital Kunduz city at dawn. The police personnel deployed at the checkpoints retaliated effectively, forcing the attackers to flee from the scene," Shir Mohammad Parsa from provincial police told Xinhua.

Reinforcement police personnel arrived at the site in Ali Khil and Sah Dara localities after the fighting and evacuated injured police officers, the police official noted.

A search campaign was also conducted to hunt for the attackers who came from nearby hills.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, has confirmed fighting in Kunduz, but rejected the claim made by Parsa.

Mujahid in counter-claim said on Twitter that the militants had killed several security force members and sized weapons from targeted checkpoints.

Warring sides in Afghanistan typically exaggerate the casualties of the opponent side and it is difficult to verify the figures by them with independent sources.

Taliban militants, who ruled the country before being ousted in late 2001, renewed armed insurgency, killing government troops as well as civilians.

They frequently attack district offices, military camps, installations and security checkpoints, while the Afghan military respond with airstrikes on militant targets in the countryside.

The latest clashes came as media reports suggested that significant progress had been made during recent negotiations between a US delegation and Taliban representatives in Qatar.

Taliban militants who are active in parts of Takhar and the neighboring Kunduz province haven't commented.