Afghan forces backed by NATO-led troops fought Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan killing 15, including a regional commander, while three more died while planting a bomb, police said on Friday.Fighting erupted in the Kajaki district of southern Helmand province late on Thursday when militants armed with machine guns and rockets attacked patrolling troops, regional police commander Nabi Jan Mullahkhail said. “Our troops were on a routine patrol when they came under attack from the enemy. We killed 15 Taliban in the gunfight,” he said, adding that a Taliban commander named Mullah Azizullah was among the dead.
The district was the scene of intense fighting earlier in the week, with police saying on Wednesday that 17 insurgents had been killed in a three-day operation there, also involving International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops. Separately, three suspected militants were killed when a mine they were laying on a road exploded.