MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Eight police personnel were killed as the Taliban militants stormed security checkpoints in the northern Balkh province on Wednesday, provincial governor's spokesman Munir Ahmad Farhad said.
A group of Taliban militants attacked security checkpoints in parts of Balkh district of the province early Wednesday and police returned fire, which lasted for couple of hours. Eight police were killed, Farhad added.
Taliban militants after suffering casualties fled the area, the spokesman said without giving an exact figure.
Zabihullah Majahid, a purported spokesman of the Taliban, has confirmed fighting in Balkh district and insisted that 10 police personnel were killed in Alam Khil and Baba Yusuf areas of Balkh district in the northern Balkh province late Tuesday night.
