Two Afghan army soldiers, four insurgents killed (Roundup)

Dec 29, 2010, 12:55 GMT

Kabul - Two Afghan soldiers and four suspected Taliban fighters have been killed in Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.

'Two national army soldiers were martyred and another was injured in a suicide bombing,' the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The bombing took place in the south-eastern province of Paktia on Tuesday, it said, without giving further details.

Four suspected Taliban fighters were killed and 10 others detained in an operation in the northern province of Kunduz, the provincial police chief said Wednesday.

The operation, carried out by Afghan and international forces, began Tuesday morning in Gortipa, an area in Kunduz city, the capital of the province of the same name.

'Four insurgents including two Chechen and one Tajik fighter were killed in the operation,' Abdul Rahman Sayedkhili told reporters. Ten other suspects were detained, he said.

'Afghan, German and US forces are taking part in the ongoing operation,' he said, adding that one Afghan policeman was injured in the offensive.

The forces were fighting a group of 25 Taliban fighters in the same area, Sayedkhili said.

Last week, a group of four insurgents attacked an Afghan army recruitment centre in Kunduz city, killing nine Afghan security personnel and injuring dozens.

Violence has escalated in the relatively peaceful northern region this year as US forces have put pressure on the militants in the south. NATO said Monday that Afghanistan will see more violence in coming weeks and months.

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