More than 20 Afghan policemen and dozens of Taliban insurgents were killed on Friday when hundreds of fighters ambushed a police and military convoy in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.
The five-hour battle in the Sherzad district of Nangarhar province was described by provincial officials as "intense" after the convoy was attacked as it returned from an operation to rescue a politician being threatened by the Taliban. "It was an intense battle and insurgents used heavy and light weapons to attack the convoy of our security forces in Sherzad district," Nangarhar deputy police chief Masoom Khan Hashemi told AFP.