5 soldiers, 8 militants killed in Afghan clashes

Kabul, May 2 (IANS) Five soldiers and eight militants were killed when fighting erupted in Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan province on Saturday night, a local source confirmed on Sunday.The clashes broke out when armed militants stormed an Afghan Regional Army's checkpoint in surrounding areas of restive Wardoj district at midnight, Abdul Raziq from the Afghan national army's 217 Pamir Corps told the Xinhua news agency.There were also 10 soldiers and eight militants wounded in the fighting, he said.The violence lingers in war-torn Afghanistan as the US and NATO troops have been leaving the country.About 3,500 US forces and 7,000 NATO troops will be withdrawn before September 11, the day which is the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that drew the US into war in Afghanistan.
--IANS int/rs