<p>A senior Taliban commander and 24 of his fighters were killed in a battle with Afghan security forces in a northern village which also left five police dead, officials said today.<br /></p>.<p>The commander of the attack was the Taliban shadow governor for the northern province of Faryab where the gunfight took place yesterday, according to the officials.</p>.<p>"The brutal enemies of Afghanistan attacked a village bazaar. They killed five local police," Abdul Satar Barez, the Faryab deputy governor, told AFP.</p>.<p>"When we received reports about the incident we sent reinforcements. Twenty-five Taliban including Mullah Yaar Mohammad, their shadow governor for Faryab, were killed," Barez said.</p>.<p>The Taliban are traditionally active in southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan. But in recent years the Islamic militants have infiltrated previously peaceful parts such as the northern provinces.</p>.<p>Barez said the death of the Taliban shadow governor had dealt the insurgents in his region a major blow.<br /><br />Despite being toppled from government by a US-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban have shadow provincial administrations headed by governors, which tax the population and run their own form of justice, often including executions.<br /><br />NATO has some 100,000 troops helping the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai fight the insurgents, but they are due to leave by the end of 2014.</p>
<p>A senior Taliban commander and 24 of his fighters were killed in a battle with Afghan security forces in a northern village which also left five police dead, officials said today.<br /></p>.<p>The commander of the attack was the Taliban shadow governor for the northern province of Faryab where the gunfight took place yesterday, according to the officials.</p>.<p>"The brutal enemies of Afghanistan attacked a village bazaar. They killed five local police," Abdul Satar Barez, the Faryab deputy governor, told AFP.</p>.<p>"When we received reports about the incident we sent reinforcements. Twenty-five Taliban including Mullah Yaar Mohammad, their shadow governor for Faryab, were killed," Barez said.</p>.<p>The Taliban are traditionally active in southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan. But in recent years the Islamic militants have infiltrated previously peaceful parts such as the northern provinces.</p>.<p>Barez said the death of the Taliban shadow governor had dealt the insurgents in his region a major blow.<br /><br />Despite being toppled from government by a US-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban have shadow provincial administrations headed by governors, which tax the population and run their own form of justice, often including executions.<br /><br />NATO has some 100,000 troops helping the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai fight the insurgents, but they are due to leave by the end of 2014.</p>