KABUL (Reuters) -- Twelve insurgents were killed when foreign and Afghan forces stormed a clinic and captured a Taliban commander being treated for injuries received in an earlier firefight, officials said.
A statement released by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the Taliban commander, known as Mullah Muslim, was being treated at a clinic in Sar Hawza, Paktika Province, after being injured in a firefight on August 20, when Afghanistan went to the polls to elect a new president.
ISAF said Afghan forces were fired on as they approached the clinic and one of its service members was killed.
The provincial governor's spokesman, Hamidullah Zwak, said the commander was captured and 12 of his fighters killed.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said there were 135 Taliban-related violent incidents on voting day in which 26 people were killed, including nine civilians.
With the votes from less than 20 percent of polling stations counted, incumbent Hamid Karzai leads his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, by 43 percent to 34 percent.
Karzai needs over 50 percent to avoid a second round run-off.