KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Some six Taliban militants were killed and eight others wounded in clashes in Imam Sahib district of northern Afghan province of Kunduz overnight, an army source said Thursday.
"The army commandos launched a night raid operation in the northern side of the district, killing six armed militants and injuring eight others," Abdul Khalil, a press officer of army's Division 20 Pamir based in the region, told Xinhua.
Sporadic clashes have been continuing in Imam Sahib since the weekend after Taliban militants carried out a coordinated attack to take control of the town bordering Tajikistan.
Imam Sahib, if captured by militants, would facilitate the Taliban outfit to receive support from their fighters based in the neighboring Qala-e-Zal and Khwaja Ghar districts to mount pressure on provincial capital Kunduz city.
"Cleanup and cordon operations continue in Imam Sahib and its surrounding areas and Afghan National Defense and Security Forces are determined to ensure public security there," Khalil said.
The clashes had also forced more than 2,000 families to flee their homes and seek safer places.
In a separate incident, a local leader and pro-government figure Mehiuddin Ibrahim was injured after gunmen attacked his vehicle in Kunduz city late on Wednesday, Waisuddin Talash, head of provincial Criminal Investigation Department, told Xinhua earlier.
The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since late April when the militant group launched its annual rebel offensive in different places of the country, which had claimed hundreds of lives including militants, security personnel and civilians.
