KABUL, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- In a bloody clash erupted between government troops and Taliban-linked militants, 75 persons including 70 insurgents were killed in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, officials said Sunday.

    "Over 100 rebels raided Panjwai district Saturday night faced troops' resistance as a result 70 enemies were killed," district chief of Panjwai Niaz Mohammad Sarhadi told Xinhua.

    More than 30 bodies of the insurgents, he added, are still lying on the ground around the Panjwai bazaar.

    Meanwhile, a police official at the site who declined to be identified said that four policemen were killed and three others got wounded in the fire exchange between the two sides. One Afghan soldier was killed and three others sustained injured in the battle lasted for few hours.

    More than 1,800 people, mostly militants, have been killed in Taliban-linked insurgency since beginning this year in the post-Taliban nation. Enditem