Twelve dead in Afghan gun battle

Taliban insurgents attacked a district government headquarters in violence-plagued southern Afghanistan early today, sparking a battle that left seven police and five rebels dead, a local police official said.

At least six other police officers were wounded in three hours of fighting that erupted when insurgents attacked the compound in the Nazarjusth district of Helmand province hours before dawn, district police chief Haji Bahadur Khan said.