17 killed in Afghanistan fighting

Five police personnel were killed in a roadside bomb blast in central Afghanistan, while Afghan and coalition forces killed 12 militants in the southern region, officials said Sunday.

The police personnel were driving in a private vehicle Saturday afternoon in Charkh district of Logar province when they were hit by a roadside bomb, Mustafa Khan Mosseni, the provincial police chief said.

NATO-led international military forces in Kabul said that the attack left four policemen dead and one wounded, who was treated by the alliance medics at the scene.

But Mosseni said the wounded officer succumbed to his injuries later in the day.

Elsewhere, Afghan and NATO forces, acting on intelligence information, attacked several compounds near the Tarin Kot, the capital city for southern Uruzgan province Saturday night, killing 12 militants, Juma Gul Hemat, the provincial police chief said.

Mullah Amanullah, one of the Taliban commanders was among those killed in the raid, Hemat said, adding that four bodies of the militants, which were left on the battlefield, were handed over to the elders in the area for burial.

Afghan army and police and tens of thousands of international forces are taking part in several operations throughout the country to drive the militants from several districts and villages before the Aug 20 presidential elections.

Last updated on Jul 12^th, 2009 at 14:56 pm IST--DPA