Troops, militants engage in gunfight

Gun-toting militants and suicide bombers struck several locations in a southern Afghanistan town Thursday, killing at least three people, local officials said. The governor of Afghanistan's Uruzgan province was in hiding inside his compound under protection as the gunfight raged in the provincial capital of Tarin Kowt, the governor's top aide told CNN by telephone. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying six followers penetrated the governor's headquarters and were engaged in a firefight with government forces, Taliban spokesman Qari Ahmad Yousofi said. Officials said at least 20 people were injured. Three explosions were heard from inside the governor's building, Mohammad Ullah, a provincial council member, told CNN. International Security Assistance Forces also were involved in the fighting, coalition forces spokesman Capt. Justin Brockhoff said. A provincial parliament member quoted Afghan forces as saying at least one ISAF helicopter was dispatched. "I didn't have time to close my shop," said Mohammad Dadu, a butcher who witnessed the attack, told the BBC. "I saw two dead bodies and four injured people with blood on their clothes." Afghan militants have intensified their attacks as coalition forces begin transitioning security duties to local forces in Afghanistan. The mayor of Kandahar was killed in a suicide attack Wednesday and two weeks ago President Hamid Karzai's half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, was assassinated in Kandahar.