Taliban militants crept up to an Afghan government office under cover of darkness early Wednesday and launched a gun battle that left four attackers and three Afghan troops dead, police said. Meanwhile, an explosion killed a motorcyclist in a tense border province in what a local military commander suggested was a botched suicide attack. The mayor's office in Khaki Afghan, a district of southeastern Zabul province, was targeted by rebels armed with machine guns and rifles, deputy police chief Jailani Khan said. In four hours of fighting, four Taliban were killed and two more captured along with their weapons, Khan said. Three Afghan soldiers died and two were wounded. "We are holding the bodies of the four dead Taliban," Khan said. Reports from the scene suggested there were also Arabs among the assailants, he said, but had no further details. The motorcyclist was killed Tuesday in Khost province by an explosion which tore apart his body, set fire to his bike and injured a farmer riding a passing tractor, said Gen. Fazel Mohammed Sahel , a commander of the local militia division.
