Clash leaves 4 militants dead in north Afghanistan

 Four militants were killed and five others including a security person sustained injuries as clash flared up in Baghlan province with Pul-e-Khumri as its capital 160 km north of Kabul Friday night, a local official said Saturday.
"A group of armed Taliban rebels raided a security checkpoint in Abqul area of Baghlan-e-Markazai district late last night, triggering a gun battle which lasted for a while leaving four militants dead," district governor Gohar Khan Babri told reporters.
Five more persons including four militants and a security man sustained injuries in the firefight, he added.
Taliban purported spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in talks with media via telephone from an unknown location confirmed the clash, insisting only one insurgent was killed and two others injured. He also claimed killing several security personnel in the firefight, a claim rejected by Babri as baseless. Taliban militants fighting the government to regain power have stepped up their activities over the past couple of months.