Afghan skirmishes leave 2 Taliban dead, 2 police injured, 4 militants detained

Taliban-linked militancy and security forces counter-militancy have claimed the lives of two Taliban fighters and left two policemen injured in the conflict- ridden Afghanistan, while four Taliban militants have made captive since Thursday night, officials said Friday. In the conflict which happened in Taliban former stronghold, the southern Helmand Province, two Taliban fighters were killed and two policemen sustained injuries on Friday, a local official asserted. "A group of Taliban rebels attacked a police checkpoint in Marja District early Friday morning and police returned fire killing two rebels on the spot, forcing others to flee," spokesman for Helmand's governor, Omar Zawak told Xinhua. He also confirmed that two police constables sustained injuries in the firefight lasted for a while. Meantime, Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit, confirmed the conflict in talks with media via telephone from unknown location, insisting five police were killed in the clash, a claim denied by Zawak as groundless. A related incident in the eastern Kunar Province also led to the arrest of three Taliban fighters on Friday, police said. "Acting upon intelligence report, the police personnel conducted an operation in Sarkano District early today morning and captured three armed Taliban rebels," Kunar provincial police chief Habibullah Sayed Khili told a press conference. All the arrested men are Afghans, Sayed Khili said, adding the police also seized a number of arms and ammunitions, including three assault rifles. Afghan security forces have also captured a Taliban weapon supplier in Jalalabad City, capital of eastern Nangarhar Province 120 km east of the Afghan capital Kabul, a statement of the National Directorate for Security (NDS) said Friday. "With the cooperation of locals, the personnel of NDS raided a house in Jalalabad city Thursday night and arrested Taliban weapon supplier named Ashequllah and recovered huge quantity of arms and ammunition including nine pistols from the house," the statement added.