A total of 37 lives, including 32 Taliban insurgents, were killed in gun battle in Afghanistan's southern Zabul province on Sunday, deputy to provincial administration Gulab Shah Alikhil said. "Taliban militants attacked a convoy supplying logistic support to NATO troops in the province this morning, killing five local security guards and injuring eight others and the government troops rushed to the area and eliminated 32 rebels," Alikhil told Xinhua. He added that 30 bodies of the rebels are still lying on the battle ground and militants have failed to take them with themselves. Only one Afghan soldier was slightly injured in the battle, he said. Alikhil also stressed that government troops had seized 16 motorbikes and 18 assault rifles from the fleeing insurgents. Taliban militants fighting Afghan government have yet to make comment. Conflicts and increasing Taliban-linked insurgency have left more than 2,500 people dead so far this year in Afghanistan.
