30 Taliban fighters killed in clashes

? Separate clashes in Afghanistan’s south and east last week killed 30 Taliban fighters, officials said today.

A group of Taliban insurgents attacked police checkpoints in Nad Ali district of southern Helmand province on Friday, fighting that killed 23 militants, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Four police were wounded and 13 other militants were detained, it said.

Following the clash, the police abandoned the checkpoints, the statement said.