Three police and two armed insurgents were killed as clash erupted in Qala-e-Zal district of Kunduz province with Kunduz city as its capital, 250 km north of Kabul on Sunday, district police chief Abdul Manan said.
"A number of armed Taliban militants stormed a checkpoint of local police in Zalamabad village, Qala-e-Zal district Sunday morning and police returned fire. The fire exchange lasted for a while during which three local police personnel and two Taliban insurgents had been killed," Manan told Xinhua.
Local police is community police, deployed in rural areas to ensure security for the villagers.
Meantime, Zabihullah Mujahid who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit in contact with media confirmed the clash, insisting five local police personnel had been killed, which was rebuffed by police officer Manan as baseless.