KABUL, Afghanistan - Fifty Taliban fighters laid down their arms on Tuesday and joined pro-government forces in northern Afghanistan where militants have been slowly expanding their presence, officials said.
Separately, an Italian soldier was killed during a shootout Tuesday in western Afghanistan, the Italy's defense minister said on state-run television. A second Italian soldier was wounded in the shoulder in the gunbattle in Bala Murghab district of Badghis province, Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said.
Kunduz province police chief Abdul Rahman Sayedkhaili said 10 or 15 militants at a time have switched sides in recent months, but that on Tuesday, 50 Taliban fighters joined forces with the government. The Taliban -- from Iman Sahib district -- were being heavily pressured by Afghan and coalition forces, he said.
Gen. Daood Daood, regional Afghan police commander in northern Afghanistan, also confirmed that the fighters had switched sides.
However, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said he had no reports of any Taliban switching sides.
He said that even if they did, they might be just doing it temporarily because of the onset of winter, or as part of their own war tactics. He said more than 3,000 Taliban are actively fighting in the north where NATO officials say some defectors are being killed.
It's unclear whether the 50 Taliban fighters will eventually become part of the Afghan government's new reintegration program designed to lure low-level Taliban fighters off the battlefield. The program offers militants, who renounce violence, honor the Afghan constitution and sever ties with al Qaeda or other terrorist networks, jobs, literacy and vocational training plus development aid for their villages.
