Taliban Attacks Kill 12 Afghan Soldiers, 7 Policemen

KABUL:
At least 12 Afghan soldiers and seven policemen were feared killed in Taliban insurgents” overnight attacks in two provinces, authorities said on Wednesday.

In one attack in Kunduz province, 12 Afghan army soldiers were killed and four others wounded after Taliban stormed an army base in Bagh-e-Sherkat, a locality in the outskirts of provincial capital Kunduz city, Fawzia Jawad from the provincial council told Xinhua news agency.

Jawad said several Taliban militants were also killed and wounded during the fierce midnight clashes. In a separate Taliban attack, four Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel and three militants were killed after militants attacked security checkpoints in Tapa-e-Muarch area in the east of the city, according to ALP official Mohammad Yaseen.

The attacks in Kunduz were reportedly launched by Taliban”s so-called Sara Keta or Red Unit. In the neighbouring Balkh province, three ALP police personnel were killed after clashes erupted in Samarqandyan village.

The violence had drastically decreased during a week-long reduction of violence period, ending on February 29 when a US-Taliban peace deal was signed in Qatari capital of Doha. However, Taliban militants resumed fighting and clashes with Afghan security forces shortly after the deal, which framed American troops” withdrawal from Afghanistan, was signed.