An Afghan official says 15 Taliban guerrillas have been killed in a clash with US forces in the south of the country.
"Fifteen Taliban were killed, including [commander] Mullah Abdur Rahim, in Maruf district," said Afghan Foreign Ministry official Khalid Khan Achakzai. Maruf is in Kandahar province.
He said the fighters killed in last night's clash had probably come from the province of Zabul, where hundreds of rebels had been involved in clashes with Afghan troops and US-led forces in recent weeks.
"They were trying to regroup and launch fresh attacks," he said.
Mullah Abdul Samad, an intelligence officer in the radical Taliban regime that was ousted from power in 2001, confirmed that there was a clash in Maruf, but denied the death of Rahim.
Rahim is the Taliban commander for southern Afghanistan, where rebels have been most active in recent months.