13 policemen, 10 militants killed in Afghan checkpoint fighting

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan – At least 13 police officers and 10 Taliban militants were killed and 20 police personnel were wounded following a fierce fighting in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz on Monday, a local official said. 

"The clashes occurred at early hours of Monday after Taliban attacked security checkpoints with guns and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) near government offices and a local bazaar in Dasht-i-Archi district," district chief Nasruddin Nazari Sahadi told Xinhua. 

Among those dead policemen were personnel of the Afghan National Police (ANP) and the Afghan Local Police (ALP). The injured were shifted to hospitals in the restive province. 

Fighting has escalated in Afghanistan as the Taliban insurgency spreads from its traditional strongholds in the south and east to the once peaceful region in the north, where Taliban have been recruiting from among the youth. 

On Friday, 20 Afghan army soldiers were killed and several others wounded in a similar incident in neighboring Baghlan province. Enditem 
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