KABUL, 4 July 2003 — Ten Taleban fighters were killed yesterday in fighting in southern Afghanistan as the rebels tried to retreat after four days of clashes with government forces, a provincial official said.
About 60 Taleban fighters managed to slip out of the Ata Ghar mountains in Zabul province and moved into neighboring Kandahar province where government forces confronted them, said Khalid Pashtun, a spokesman for Kandahar’s governor.
Pashtun said 10 Taleban were killed and 16 wounded in the fighting. “Fortunately, so far we have lost no one,” Pashtun told Reuters. Southern Afghanistan is one of the most volatile parts of the country.
Mulla Abdul Rauf, a provincial governor during Taleban rule, told Reuters on Wednesday that Hafiz Abdur Rahim, one of the most wanted senior commanders from the ousted regime, was leading more than 200 Taleban fighters at Ata Ghar.
An Afghan military officer has also been shot dead by two unknown gunmen in the centre of the main western city of Herat, officials said yesterday.
