[Quqnoos] An intense overnight battle with Taliban militants in northwestern Afghanistan has left eight Taliban insurgents dead on Saturday. Afghan forces backed by foreign troops attacked a group of Taliban fighters in the restive Bala Murghab district of Badghis province, a senior local police official said.In the gun-battle which lasted an hour, NATO-led forces with air support attacked the Taliban targets in Bala Murghab -- one of the main Taliban strongholds in the relatively secure western Afghanistan.
A local Taliban leader, known as the head of Taliban Council in Bala Murghab is among the dead, the police official, Abdul Jabaar, told Quqnoos. A number of Taliban militants have been also wounded, Jabaar added.
Local officials said no civilians, Afghan and foreign troops have been harmed in the operation.