Kabul, July 7 (IANS): A key Taliban commander was killed when police retaliated a militant attack on checkpoints in Afghanistan's Laghman province on Tuesday, the provincial government said.
"A group of Taliban militants under the command of Mullah Abdul Khaliq attacked police checkpoints in Badro village of Alishing district in Afghanistan. Police fired back, killing the commander and injuring another militant in the process," Xinhua quoted a government statement as saying.
According to the statement, Khaliq was a powerful military leader in the Laghman province - one of the 34 provinces of the country - and his killing is a major setback to the Taliban in east Afghanistan.
Taliban militants are yet to comment.