Two policemen, an Italian soldier and a Taliban shadow governor were among those killed in northern Afghanistan in recent days, officials said Friday according to dpa. A Taliban commander and his bodyguard were killed during an overnight operation by Afghan and NATO forces in the northern province of Kunduz, police said on Friday. Provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Sayedkhili said the combined forces raided a house in Chahar Darah district and killed Mullah Bahader, the Taliban shadow governor of Kunduz province, along with his bodyguard. Mullah Bahader is the second Taliban shadow governor to be killed by Afghan and international troops in 2010. NATO confirmed in a statement that an operation targeting "an area leader working closely with Taliban shadow governors" in planning attacks against Afghan and coalition forces took place in Chahar Darah district on Thursday night. The military alliance said they killed one armed insurgent but did not confirm his identity. Separately, an Italian soldier working with the International Security Assistance Force was killed by a sniper near Farah in Afghanistan's south-west Friday, confirmed Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa.
