KABUL, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- A fighting between two rival factions killed about 30 people in Shindand district of the western Herat province of Afghanistan, the provincial police chief told Xinhua on Monday.

    The conflict broke out on Sunday after some militants loyal to a local commander, Arbab Basir, ambushed a car carrying a well-known commander, Amanullah Khan, said Mohammad Ayub Salangi.

    The ambush occurred in Shindand district, about 120 km south of the provincial capital Herat, he added.

    About 30 people from both sides including Khan and his son were killed in the ambush and the following clash, and many others were injured, Salangi said, adding the situation has been under control now.

    Meanwhile, a spokesman of the NATO forces in Herat confirmed with Xinhua that about 30 were killed in the fierce fighting.

    The spokesman said some NATO soldiers have been dispatched to the district to keep security, but he declined to tell the exact number.

    Khan, an ethnic Pashtun commander, who has hundreds of militias, has frequently clashed with his Tajik rivals led by former Herat province governor Ismail Khan in the previous years.

    The clash came to a climax in late 2004 with days of fighting, after which Amanullah Khan was arrested and brought to the capital Kabul. But he was freed later.

    Ismail Khan was appointed as energy and water minister in Kabul in the same year, but still has considerable influence in Herat province.