Taliban fighters killed after ambush

Suspected Taliban fighters attacked an Afghan army convoy in a southern province, sparking three hours of fighting that killed 13 militants, an Afghan general said today.

The clash happened late on Thursday near Tirin Kot in Uruzgan province, said the Afghan army commander for the south, General Rehmatullah Raufi.

The army suffered no casualties, he said. Raufi said the army recovered the bodies of 13 militants, as well as assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

He said soldiers found Pakistani identity cards on the bodies of two leaders of the Taliban group.

Afghan officials say Taliban militants who have stepped up attacks across the volatile south this spring find sanctuary inside neighbouring Pakistan, which Pakistan denies.