Four Taliban militants and three civilians were killed as a clash erupted between Taliban militants and government troops in Herat province, west of Afghanistan, a local official said Saturday, Xinhua reported.
"The clash erupted Friday night when Taliban attacked a patrol team of international troops from a house in Shindand district and the troops returned fire killing four rebels," Lal Mohammad Omarzai, the governor of Shindand, told Xinhua.
Three more civilians including a man from the same house were killed and three children got wounded, Omarzai added.
Clashes with militants often harm civilians as more than 1,500 civilians are said to have been killed so far this year in Afghanistan in Taliban-linked insurgency and military operations.
Clash leaves 4 Taliban militants, 3 Afghan civilians dead
