Dozens reported killed in Afghan militant infighting: Police

Up to 60 militants and 19 civilians may have been killed in bloody clashes between rival Islamist militant groups in northern Afghanistan, a police official said today.
       
The fighting between Taliban rebels and militants loyal to the Hezb-i-Islami insurgent group erupted early Saturday in Baghlan province where both factions are active, said provincial police chief Mohammad Kabir Andarabi.
       
Citing local sources in the region, the police chief said the battles took place in the Jangal Bagh area. The interior ministry yesterday confirmed the clashes, but was notable to give casualty figures.

"We have intelligence reports that 60 fighters -- 40 (from) Hezb-i-Islami and 20 Taliban -- have died so far. Our reports indicate that up to 19 civilians were also killed," Andarabi told AFP.
          
The Taliban is the main militant group behind an increasingly deadly insurgency to topple the Western-backed government of president Hamid Karzai and force out about 121,000 US and NATO troops stationed in Afghanistan.
 
Smaller militant outfits are also battling the government and foreign troops, either joining forces with the Taliban or waging their own insurgency.

Hezb-i-Islami, an Islamist faction loyal to former Afghan prime minister turned warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, is the second biggest militant group.