MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan — At least 27 members of security forces in northern Afghanistan were killed by the Taliban in a series of coordinated attacks on Tuesday, officials said, and dozens of others were wounded.

The deadliest violence took place in Sar-i-Pul Province, where the Taliban attacked Afghan security forces in three areas, killing a total of 21 people, officials said. The officials did not provide a breakdown of casualties.

Zabihullah Amani, the spokesman for the governor of Sar-i-Pul, said the Taliban had simultaneously attacked the center of Sayad District, security outposts along the highway linking Sar-i-Pul with Jowzjan, and a village with oil wells.

“It was a very strong attack,” Mr. Amani said. “Two security outposts were captured by the Taliban; 25 members of security forces were also wounded during the clashes.” </s> The Taliban militants have killed at least 21 Afghan security forces and wounded nearly two dozen others in a number of simultaneous attacks in the country’s north.

Local officials said on Tuesday that the casualties took place when the militants carried out attacks on security outposts in Sayad district of the northern province of Sar-e Pul.

Zabihullah Amani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said at least 21 local forces, including police and intelligence, were killed and another 23 wounded in the raids, which he said were aimed at seizing control of several oil wells on the outskirts of the provincial capital city of Sar-e Pul.

Amani also said hundreds of militants were still outside Sar-e-Pul, warning that the city was at risk of falling to the Taliban if reinforcements were not sent.

"The enemy is still amassing forces outside the city," he told AFP. "We have deployed all the forces available in the city, but no reinforcements have arrived from outside so far. The people inside the city are very worried. They have attacked the city many times in the past, but this time the threat is more serious.”

The Taliban confirmed the attacks on the northern Afghan province, claiming that they had captured three checkpoints and killed or wounded 50 members of the security forces.

The Taliban militants have in recent months stepped up attacks on security forces across Afghanistan, killing a large number of police forces as well as civilians.

This comes as representatives from the Taliban, the US, and regional countries met for the fourth time earlier in December in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi for talks to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan. The militant group’s representatives, however, refused to talk to the Afghan negotiating team.

Taliban leaders also announced on Sunday that the group’s representatives would meet US officials in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah for the fifth round of talks in January but not the representatives of the Afghan government.

President Ashraf Ghani has said the talks should be “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned,” insisting on continued efforts to establish a direct line of diplomatic communication with the Taliban.

The Taliban’s five-year rule over at least three quarters of Afghanistan came to an end with a US-led invasion in 2001; but 17 years on, the militant group continues to be active on much of Afghan soil. The Taliban have strengthened their grip over the past three years, with the government in Kabul controlling just 56 percent of the country, down from 72 percent in 2015, a recent US government report showed.

Having failed to end the militancy campaign, Washington has over the past months stepped up its political efforts to secure a truce with Taliban.

The Taliban and the Afghan government have previously said the presence of foreign troops is the biggest obstacle to peace in Afghanistan.

Taliban militants have warned of stepping up their attacks until the US forces fully withdraw from Afghanistan.

US President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the withdrawal of some 7,000 troops from Afghanistan. The figure accounts for about half of the total number of American boots on the ground in the country.

But a later White House announcement has cast doubt on reports about Trump’s order.

The Taliban have not formally responded to the partial US troop withdrawal. But a senior commander recently told media outlets that the group was “more than happy.”

In a report published on Tuesday, diplomats from Afghanistan’s neighbors told Reuters that there were fears a US troop pullout could trigger hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee into their countries.

“At this point, there is no clarity about the withdrawal, but we have to keep a clear action plan ready,” a senior Asian diplomat based in Kabul told Reuters. “The situation can turn from bad to worse very quickly.”

Afghanistan shares a border with Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China, and is the world’s second-biggest source of refugees, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Diplomats from the countries told Reuters they would increase border preparations in anticipation of refugees.

This article has been adapted from its original source. </s> KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: Taliban bombers targeting a district centre in southern Afghanistan have killed at least 19 people, including eight election workers, officials said on Sunday.

The attack comes as a new round of talks between the United States and the Taliban to end the 18-year long war in Afghanistan entered a second day in Qatar. The militants rammed four armoured vehicles packed with explosives into a government compound in Maruf district late Saturday, a police spokesman in southern Kandahar province said.

Eight election workers who were stationed at the centre to register voters ahead of the presidential polls in September were also killed in the attack, said Zabiullah Sadaat, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC).

Afghanistan’s twice-delayed presidential election is now slated for September 28. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with a spokesman tweeting that their fighters had captured the district centre, killing 57 security forces.

Afghanistan’s interior ministry however rejected the claim, saying in a statement that the militants had been beaten back and 25 insurgents killed. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the "barbaric and unforgivable" attacks, which are the latest in a relentless wave of assaults by the Taliban, who now hold sway over about half of the country and regularly target government forces.

The insurgents killed at least 25 members of a pro-government militia in an attack in northern Baghlan province on Saturday. The violence comes amid stepped-up efforts by the US to find a negotiated end to America’s longest war, with Washington and the Taliban opening a fresh round of negotiations in Doha on Saturday. </s> A series of Taliban attacks in western and northern Afghanistan has killed 21 members of the country's security forces, Afghan officials say.

Jamshed Shahabi, spokesperson for the governor in western Badghis province, said the fighters overran outposts there, killing six policemen on Wednesday.

Council member Shamsul Haq Baeakzai in northern Baghlan province said seven members of the local police force were killed there on the same day.

In northern Takhar province, council member Ruhollah Raufi said eight policemen were shot.

The Taliban also attacked security checkpoints in Kunduz province, killing soldiers and police.

The attacks wounded dozens of other members of the security forces. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for these attacks.

The Taliban fighters have carried out near-daily attacks on Afghan troops, inflicting heavy losses. In response, the government in Kabul no longer releases official casualty figures.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in November that 28,589 Afghan security personnel, both police and army, had been killed in fighting since 2015.

Meanwhile, Pakistani and Afghan officials are meeting in Islamabad to discuss Taliban peace negotiations.

The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, has also been trying to restart a peace process with the Taliban. He is on his fourth trip to the region since being appointed in September. He will visit India, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Russia and Iran have all been involved in engaging with the Taliban in recent months either with the US or in parallel processes.

Several senior Taliban leaders are in Doha, Qatar. There were reports on Wednesday that talks in Doha between the Taliban and the US were cancelled over "agenda differences".

However, the US Ambassador to Afghanistan, John Bass, tweeted: "Reports of US-Taliban talks Wednesday inaccurate. Taliban should talk to fellow Afghans as much as they talk to media."

The Taliban has repeatedly refused to meet the Afghan government. In December the Taliban held meetings with Iranian officials and in November attended a meeting in Moscow where a non-governmental Afghan delegation was present.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on a visit to India that Iran has had intelligence contacts with the Taliban because it needed to secure border areas controlled by the Taliban on the Afghan side.

"I think it would be impossible to have a future Afghanistan without any role for the Taliban," Zarif, who is in New Delhi for talks with Indian leaders, told NDTV in an interview. "But we also believe that the Taliban should not have a dominant role in Afghanistan." </s> KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: Taliban bombers targeting a district centre in southern Afghanistan have killed at least 19 people, including eight election workers, officials said on Sunday.

The attack comes as a new round of talks between the United States and the Taliban to end the 18-year long war in Afghanistan entered a second day in Qatar. The militants rammed four armoured vehicles packed with explosives into a government compound in Maruf district late Saturday, a police spokesman in southern Kandahar province said. “Unfortunately 11 policemen were martyred and 27 more injured,” Qasim Afghan said.

Eight election workers who were stationed at the centre to register voters ahead of the presidential polls in September were also killed in the attack, said Zabiullah Sadaat, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC).

Afghanistan’s twice-delayed presidential election is now slated for September 28. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with a spokesman tweeting that their fighters had captured the district centre, killing 57 security forces.

Afghanistan’s interior ministry however rejected the claim, saying in a statement that the militants had been beaten back and 25 insurgents killed.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the “barbaric and unforgivable” attacks, which are the latest in a relentless wave of assaults by the Taliban, who now hold sway over about half of the country and regularly target government forces. The insurgents killed at least 25 members of a pro-government militia in an attack in northern Baghlan province on Saturday.

The violence comes amid stepped-up efforts by the United States to find a negotiated end to America’s longest war, with Washington and the Taliban opening a fresh round of negotiations in Doha on Saturday. </s> At least four Afghan security forces and a US service member have been killed in two separate attacks claimed by the Taliban as violence continues across Afghanistan despite efforts to end the 18-year war.

An attack on a commercial building housing a hotel and shops in Qala-e-Naw, the capital of Badghis province in western Afghanistan, killed four security personnel and wounded 20 others, including civilians, officials said on Saturday.

"The attackers took over a building near the governor's office and police headquarters," Badghis Governor Abdul Ghafoor Malikzai told the AFP news agency.

Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said at least three Taliban attackers were also killed in the attack and two others arrested.

In a separate incident, NATO said a US service member was killed in action on Saturday in Sayed Abad district of central Wardak province, some 70km south of the Afghan capital, Kabul.

"The name of the service member killed in action is being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete," Resolute Support, the US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

While NATO did not provide further details, the Taliban claimed responsibility for killing "two US soldiers" by "blowing up an American tank". The United States does not use tanks in Afghanistan.

The discrepancy between the number of fatalities given by the US and the Taliban could not immediately be explained, but the Taliban often exaggerates its claims.

Series of attacks after Doha talks

The two incidents on Saturday came less than a week after Taliban officials sat face-to-face with Afghan leaders as well as US negotiators in Qatar in a bid to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan.

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On Friday, at least six people were killed and 14 others wounded after a suicide bomber, believed to be in his early teens, targeted a wedding celebration in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province.

The Nangarhar attack came three days after Afghan forces killed several civilians, including a mother and her six children, during an air and ground raid in the northern Baghlan province on Tuesday.

On Monday, Afghan leaders and Taliban pledged to "minimise civilian casualties to zero" and guarantee the security of public institutions such as schools, religious centres, mosques and hospitals at a meeting in Qatar's capital Doha, where the two sides continue to hold peace talks.

Between January and March this year, air operations by Afghan and international forces have caused at least 145 deaths, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the total deaths during that period, UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in its quarterly report in April.

Women and children comprised half of those casualties (145 deaths and 83 injuries), according to the UN agency.

US special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has been holding peace talks with Taliban aimed at hammering out the details of a framework agreement reached in January.

The framework agreement includes a timeline for US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan, a ceasefire and a Taliban guarantee to not allow foreign forces to use the country as a staging ground for foreign attacks. </s> KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: Taliban bombers targeting a district centre in southern Afghanistan have killed at least 19 people, including eight election workers, officials said on Sunday.

The attack comes as a new round of talks between the United States and the Taliban to end the 18-year long war in Afghanistan entered a second day in Qatar. The militants rammed four armoured vehicles packed with explosives into a government compound in Maruf district late Saturday, a police spokesman in southern Kandahar province said. “Unfortunately 11 policemen were martyred and 27 more injured,” Qasim Afghan said.

Eight election workers who were stationed at the centre to register voters ahead of the presidential polls in September were also killed in the attack, said Zabiullah Sadaat, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC).

Afghanistan’s twice-delayed presidential election is now slated for September 28. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with a spokesman tweeting that their fighters had captured the district centre, killing 57 security forces.

Afghanistan’s interior ministry however rejected the claim, saying in a statement that the militants had been beaten back and 25 insurgents killed. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the “barbaric and unforgivable” attacks, which are the latest in a relentless wave of assaults by the Taliban, who now hold sway over about half of the country and regularly target government forces. The insurgents killed at least 25 members of a pro-government militia in an attack in northern Baghlan province on Saturday.

The violence comes amid stepped-up efforts by the United States to find a negotiated end to America´s longest war, with Washington and the Taliban opening a fresh round of negotiations in Doha on Saturday. </s> Kandahar, Afghanistan, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2019 ) :Taliban bombers targeting a district centre in southern Afghanistan have killed at least 19 people, including eight election workers, officials said on Sunday.

The attack comes as a new round of talks between the United States and the Taliban to end the 18-year long war in Afghanistan entered a second day in Qatar.

The militants rammed four armoured vehicles packed with explosives into a government compound in Maruf district late Saturday, a police spokesman in southern Kandahar province said.

"Unfortunately 11 policemen were martyred and 27 more injured," Qasim Afghan told AFP.

Eight election workers, who were stationed at the centre to register voters ahead of the presidential polls in September, were also killed in the attack, said Zabiullah Sadaat, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC).

Afghanistan's twice-delayed presidential election is now slated for September 28.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with a spokesman tweeting that their fighters had captured the district centre, killing 57 security forces.

Afghanistan's interior ministry, however, rejected the claim, saying in a statement that the militants had been beaten back and 25 insurgents killed.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the "barbaric and unforgivable" attacks, which are the latest in a relentless wave of assaults by the Taliban, who now hold sway over about half of the country and regularly target government forces.

The insurgents killed at least 25 members of a pro-government militia in an attack in northern Baghlan province on Saturday.

The violence comes amid stepped-up efforts by the United States to find a negotiated end to America's longest war, with Washington and the Taliban opening a fresh round of negotiations in Doha on Saturday. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan — Officials say a wave of Taliban attacks in western and northern Afghanistan the previous day has killed 21 members of the country's security forces.

Jamshed Shahabi, spokesman for the governor in western Badghis province, says the insurgents overran outposts there, killing six policemen.

Council member Shamsul Haq Baeakzai in northern Baghlan province says seven members of the local police force were killed there, also on Wednesday.

And in northern Takhar province, council member Ruhollah Raufi says eight policemen were gunned down.

The attacks left another 23 members of the security forces wounded. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for all the attacks.

The insurgents carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan troops, inflicting heavy loses. In response, the government in Kabul no longer releases official casualty figures.
The Taliban kills 27 members of the Afghan National Security Forces in a series of coordinated attacks in northern Afghanistan after refusing to discuss peace in the region with government officials.