Afghan officials say joint force kills 7 militants in gunbattle in south

Afghan officials: 7 militants killed in south

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — NATO and Afghan forces killed seven militants in a gunbattle in the south of the country, the Afghan army said Monday.

The troops were on patrol in Helmand province Sunday when they came under attack and returned fire, said Gen. Sher Mohammad Zazi, the army commander for southern Afghanistan. He said no government or international troops were wounded and that they recovered the bodies of seven militants after the battle. NATO forces did not have any immediate comment on the incident.

Meanwhile, two would-be suicide bombers targeted a police station Monday in southern Zabul province, but were driven back before they could set off their explosives.

Officers opened fire on the two attackers as they approached the police headquarters in Qalat city, fatally shooting one of them, said deputy provincial police chief Ghulam Jalanai Farahi. One officer was wounded in the firefight.

The second attacker escaped during the fighting and security forces were searching for him, Farahi said.