Gun battle with Taliban kills 2 police
A two-hour gun battle between police and suspected Taliban militants left two policemen dead in western Afghanistan, a police spokesman said. The Taliban attacked a police checkpoint Saturday night in Farah province, and the officers were killed in the clash, the spokesman said.
Separately, a United Nations mine-clearing worker was wounded when suspected Taliban militants ambushed Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces north of Kabul, the capital, the coalition said.
A Taliban spokesman also said a kidnapped Italian journalist had been handed over to local tribal chiefs for possible release. The reporter was seized two weeks ago in Helmand province, where North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Afghan forces have launched a major offensive.
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