Afghan and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) ambushed and killed 41 Taliban insurgents in southwest Afghan province of Nimroz on Tuesday, said an official on Thursday.

Ghulan Dastghir Azad, the governor of Nimroz province told Xinhua that the joint forces ambushed Taliban insurgents in Khash Rod district when they found the Taliban outfits trying to move from Nimroz to the neighboring Helmand province.

Clashes left all the 41 of Taliban dead including one commander named Mullah Toor Jan, Azad said.

He added that 17 bodies have been transferred and buried in the district.

Conflicts and Taliban-related violence claimed around 8,000 lives last year, according to a latest-released UN figure.

Over 210 people have been killed mostly in suicide attacks and roadside bombings this year across the war-torn country, where the anti-government militants have vowed to intensify their guerrilla-style attacks.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2008)