KABUL, Afghanistan, April 15 (UPI) -- Forty-seven people were killed in a battle between insurgents and police in Afghanistan as Taliban and al-Qaida violence escalates.
The BBC reports 41 Taliban fighters and six Afghan police officers were killed in the village of Sangisar in the Kandahar region as skirmishes continued throughout Friday.
Nine police officers and three civilians were injured, said Kandahar Gov. Assadullah Khalid.
Thirteen Taliban were arrested.
Khalid said the fight began after Taliban troops fled a battle in Heland province.
A roadside bomb killed three police near the border with Pakistan Friday.
The South Asia director of the International Crisis Group, Samina Ahmed, said insurgent violence continues and is growing in Afghanistan, from suicide bombings to "large-scale attacks."
Operation Mountain Lion, an offensive with 2,500 U.S., British and Afghan troops, has focused on Taliban operations.
