Afghanistan: Taliban rebels overran a western Afghan district, sparking a fierce battle today that left seven civilians and a policeman dead and 20 militants killed or wounded, officials said.

Around 400 Taliban from the troubled southern province of Helmand joined forces with Islamist fighters in the neighbouring Gulistan district of Farah province yesterday night, provincial police chief Abdul Rehman Sarjang said.

"Police made a tactical retreat, the battle is ongoing now. No one is in control of the district centre at the moment, police are in the outskirts of the district centre fighting Taliban," Sarjang told AFP.

The police chief said local people who supported the police were killed by Taliban today.

"The Taliban sprayed seven civilians with bullets in the district today, killing them instantly," Sarjang said. "Up to 20 Taliban have been killed and wounded. One policeman was martyred and three injured so far."

Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi claimed that the hardline movement s fighters had captured Gulistan. "We are in control of the district now," he said.

But the police chief denied the claim, saying that Afghan forces and NATO-led troops are being deployed in support of police "to retake total control".

"We are in the villages trying to clear the district of Taliban," he said. The Taliban have kept control of at east one district in Helmand province, Musa Qala, for almost a year now. They have seized other districts, mainly in the south, for short periods of time.
Source : PTI