Afghan police clash with Taliban, many said killed

KABUL, Aug 10 (Reuters) Afghan police and Taliban guerrillas today battled in violence-racked southern Kandahar province, with both sides claiming they had inflicted casualties, the interior ministry said.

Separately, at least three civilians were wounded in an explosion on a main road in front of the governor's office in the eastern city of Jalalabad, police said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blast, but militants have carried out attacks in the past in the city.

The Kandahar clash was triggered after eight police died in a Taliban ambush last night in Panjwai district, on a main road west of Kandahar city, ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai said.

''In the clash, police have killed 12 Taliban so far,'' he said, adding fighting was continuing. He had no further details.

Mawlavi Samad, a local Taliban commander, put the Taliban death toll at one and said the militants had killed 15 police. There was no independent verification for either side's claims.

Kandahar is part of the heartland of the Taliban, who US-led troops drove from power in 2001.

Despite a heavy foreign military presence since then, and the revival of the army and police, bloodshed and fighting around the country has been the worst since the war.

Almost 1,800 people have been killed in attacks by Taliban, drug gangs and operations by foreign troops, mostly in southern and eastern areas this year.

The toll also includes civilians, aid workers and more than 80 foreign troops. Fighting in the south has increased as NATO built up its presence ahead of taking over the region from US forces at the end of July.

NATO's expansion into the south, aimed at allowing the US to cut down the size of its forces in Afghanistan, is the biggest ground operation in the alliance's history.

It is expected to move into the east later this year.

REUTERS SB ND1506