KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Afghan security forces battled suspected Taliban insurgents in two separate clashes in southern Afghanistan, leaving nine militants and two police dead, officials said Saturday.
Militants attacked a police checkpoint near Tirin Kot in Uruzgan province on Saturday in a clash that left two police and six militants dead, said Gen. Mohammad Qasem, the provincial police chief.
Five other officers and 10 suspected Taliban were wounded in the fight, Qasem said. Police recovered the bodies of the militants along with their weapons, he said.
In neighboring Zabul province, militants ambushed a convoy carrying Afghan soldiers on Friday, said Gen. Mohammad Asif, the commander of the Afghan army in Zabul.
In the ensuing clash, three suspected Taliban were killed and six were wounded, Asif said. There were no ANA casualties and only one vehicle was damaged, he said.
The clashes follow the biggest independent operation ever by Afghan forces in the country's volatile south, which left up to 69 militants and seven police dead. The operation was part of a major joint push by NATO and Afghan troops against a rising threat from the Taliban inspired insurgency in the country's south.
Violence in Afghanistan has spiked over the last year, with Taliban militants setting off a record number of roadside and suicide attacks. U.S. and NATO officials have said they expect violence to again increase this spring and summer.
