Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says 26 soldiers were killed and 13 wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in the southern province of Kandahar.

Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said 80 Taliban militants were also killed or wounded in the attack on the Karzyalay military base in Kandahar’s Khakrez district early on July 26.

Government sources who spoke on condition of anonymity told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that at least 30 people were killed in heavy clashes.

In a statement, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it had killed 74 soldiers and captured six others.

The Defense Ministry said reinforcements had been sent to the scene.

The attack came amid a deadly surge of violence in Afghanistan, where the United Nations says more than 1,700 civilians have been killed this year.

On July 24, a Taliban suicide car bombing killed at least 26 people and wounded 41 others in the capital, Kabul.

With reporting by BBC Persian and Tolo News </s> Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says 26 soldiers were killed and 13 wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in the southern province of Kandahar, although other government officials said the death toll was at least 30.

Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said 80 Taliban militants were also killed or wounded in the attack on the Karzyalay military base in Kandahar’s Khakrez district early on July 26.

The attack came amid a deadly surge of violence in Afghanistan, where government forces are struggling to fend off a resurgent Taliban that controls more territory than at any time since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

Government sources who spoke on condition of anonymity told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that at least 30 soldiers were killed in the attack.

Sediq Esa, a spokesman for the 205th Corps in Kandahar, also said at least 30 Afghan military personnel were killed.

Esa said the militants seized the base and captured weapons and vehicles.

In a statement, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it had killed 74 soldiers and captured six others.

The Defense Ministry said government forces, backed by the air force, recaptured the base after several hours.

Kandahar has been the scene of constant militant attacks since 2001. The province is the spiritual heartland of the Taliban and located on the porous border with Pakistan, where the militant group’s leadership is believed to be based.

Taliban militants have ramped up their attacks on military bases across the country, challenging the thinly stretched security forces.

The U.S. Special Inspector-General for Reconstruction (SIGAR) has called the casualty rate among Afghan forces "shockingly high." Last year, more than 6,800 were killed and another 12,000 wounded, according to a SIGAR report this year.

In April, at least 140 soldiers were killed on a base outside the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, one of the deadliest-ever Taliban attacks on a military installation.

In March, gunmen disguised as doctors stormed the Sardar Daud Khan hospital -- the country's largest military hospital -- in Kabul, killing 50 people.

The Taliban is threatening to overrun districts in Baghlan, Badakhshan, Kunduz, Helmand, Farah, and Uruzgan provinces, according to officials.

The militants captured three districts in the past seek, although the ministry said Kohistan district in the northwestern province of Faryab was recaptured late on July 25.

On July 24, a Taliban suicide car bombing killed at least 26 people and wounded 41 others in the capital, Kabul, many of them employees of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.

The Taliban was driven from power in Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion that followed the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

With reporting by BBC Persian and Reuters </s> KABUL — An Afghan official says 26 soldiers have been killed in a blistering Taliban assault on an Afghan National Security base in southern Kandahar province.

Mohammad Radmanish, defence ministry's deputy spokesman, said Wednesday the Taliban assault overnight in Khakrez district left another 13 soldiers wounded.

Kandahar is considered the spiritual heartland of the Taliban.

In previous reports the U.S. Special Inspector General for Reconstruction (SIGAR) has called the casualty rate among Afghanistan's National Security Forces "shockingly high." Last year more than 6,800 were killed and another 12,000 wounded according to a SIGAR report earlier this year. </s> Taliban militants have killed at least 26 Afghan soldiers and injured 30 more in an attack on an army base in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar Province.

The militants “attacked an army camp in the Karzali area of the Khakrez district of Kandahar last night,” General Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, said on Wednesday.

Waziri said the soldiers “bravely resisted” and killed over 80 of the assailants.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, at least 50 Taliban militants were reportedly killed in Baghlan-e-Markazi district of northern Baghlan Province during an ongoing operation by Afghan troops on Tuesday night, Afghan media reported on Wednesday.

More than 20 villages were purged of Taliban militants during the operation, which was launched eight days ago in a bid to clear the area of militants.

Some 70 more Taliban members were also wounded in the operation.

“The Taliban are on the run from the district after suffering heavy casualties,” said Deputy Defense Minister General Shoaor Gul.

They had attacked the district eight days ago and gotten close to the center of the district.

According to authorities, the Afghan Air Force provided support for ground forces in the operation, and the militants suffered most of the casualties in the aerial operations.

Insecurity has gripped Afghanistan since 2001, when the United States and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. Many parts of the country remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of foreign troops.

In addition to the Taliban, the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group — which is mainly active in Syria and Iraq — has managed to gain a foothold in Afghanistan. </s> Taliban militants have killed at least 15 Afghan soldiers during an attack on an army base in Afghanistan’s southern province of Kandahar.

Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, said on Friday that the militants “launched a coordinated assault on an army base last night (Thursday) in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province.”

“Fifteen Afghan army soldiers were martyred and five others wounded,” he added.

However, a provincial official, who asked not to be named, put the death toll at 20.

The assault is the second of its kind in less than a week.

At least 10 Afghan soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack on the Achakzai camp of army corps 205 in the same district on May 22.

The number of Taliban attacks across Afghanistan climbs every spring, when the militants increasingly target government officials and US-led foreign forces in the country. Many ordinary people often fall victim to such attacks as well.

Over 1,000 members of Afghan security forces as well as over 700 civilians have been killed so far this year, according to Afghan authorities and figures cited by the US-based Congressional watchdog Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

The US military is considering whether to deploy 3,000 to 5,000 more military advisers to help train and assist Afghan security forces battling a 16-year militancy by the Taliban.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001. The invasion did remove the Taliban from power, but has failed to stop its terror campaign to this day.
• Gen. Nicholson Assures Kunduz Will Not Fall To Militants </s> KABUL – At least 18 Afghan soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack on a military base in Kandahar province of Afghanistan, according to media reports on Friday.Five others were injured in the assault on the facility in Shah Wali Kot district, defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Wazir said.The attack comes four days after 10 Afghan soldiers were killed when Taliban militants stormed another base in the same area.The attacks in Kandahar follow raids on police outposts in central the central Zabul province on Sunday, which left at least 20 officers dead.The Taliban is believed to control up to a third of Afghanistan, after gaining ground in the past two years. </s> At least 26 Afghan soldiers were killed after the Taliban attacked a military base in Kandahar on Tuesday, reported AFP quoting the country’s Defence Ministry. The Afghan Air Force said it carried out strikes to support the army during the attack on the base, which is in Karzali area of Khakrez district, near the Helmand border.

At least 13 soldiers were injured in the Taliban attack, Defence Ministry Spokesperson General Dawlat Waziri said. He claimed that the Afghan security forces had killed more than 80 insurgents in response.

“We conducted multiple airstrikes, killing dozens of them,” said the provincial air force commander. “Our helicopters transported wounded soldiers to hospitals in Kandahar.” An unnamed senior army official said that at least 12 soldiers were missing after the attack. </s> At least 26 Afghan soldiers have been killed and 13 wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in southern Kandahar province, the defence ministry said Wednesday, the latest blow to the country's struggling security forces.

The militants "attacked an army camp in Karzali area of Khakrez district of Kandahar last night," MoD spokesman General Dawlat Waziri said.

Afghan soldiers "bravely resisted", he added, killing more than 80 insurgents.

Residents in the area described an hours-long attack launched by a 30-strong convoy carrying "hundreds" of Taliban who assaulted the base from multiple directions.

Air support was called in, several residents told AFP, though that was not immediately confirmed by officials. The insurgents claimed the attack via their Twitter account.

The resurgent Taliban have been ramping up their campaign against beleaguered government forces, underscoring rising insecurity in the war-torn country during the summer fighting season when the warmer weather tends to spur an increase in militant attacks.

Afghan security forces -- beset by a high death toll, desertions and non-existent "ghost soldiers" on the payroll -- have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Casualties among Afghan security forces soared by 35 percent in 2016, with 6,800 soldiers and police killed, according to US watchdog SIGAR.

The insurgents have carried out more complex attacks against security forces in 2017, with SIGAR describing troop casualties in the early part of the year as "shockingly high".

In April at least 135 soldiers are believed to have been killed on a base outside the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, one of the deadliest ever Taliban attacks on a military installation. Some sources put the toll as high as 200.

While in early March gunmen disguised as doctors stormed the Sardar Daud Khan hospital -- the country's largest military hospital -- in Kabul, killing dozens.

The Taliban have a heavy presence in poppy-growing Kandahar province and have launched repeated attacks on security forces there, including multiple assaults on military bases in May which killed dozens of soldiers.

A recent UN report showed Kandahar, which lies on the border with Pakistan, was also one of the most dangerous places in the country for civilians.

More than 70 villagers were kidnapped by the Taliban over the weekend, officials said. Seven were found dead and some 30 returned, while Afghan police have launched a search and rescue operation for the remainder of the missing.

Afghan forces now control 59.7 percent of the country, up from 57.2 percent the previous quarter, according to SIGAR.

The Taliban and other insurgent groups meanwhile saw their areas of control or influence increase slightly from about 10 percent to 11.1 percent. </s> At least 26 Afghan soldiers have been killed and 13 wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in Kandahar province, the defense ministry said Wednesday, the latest blow to struggling security forces.

The militants "attacked an army camp in Karzali area of Khakrez district of Kandahar last night," MoD spokesman General Dawlat Waziri said.

Afghan soldiers "bravely resisted", he said, killing more than 80 insurgents.

Residents in the area described an hours-long attack launched by a 30-strong convoy carrying "hundreds" of Taliban who assaulted the base from multiple directions.

Air support was called in, several residents told AFP, though that was not immediately confirmed by officials. The insurgents claimed the attack via their Twitter account.

The resurgent Taliban have been ramping up their campaign against beleaguered government forces, underscoring rising insecurity in the war-torn country throughout the warmer weather fighting season.

Afghan security forces, beset by killings, desertions and non-existent "ghost soldiers" on the payroll, have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

According to US watchdog SIGAR, casualties among Afghan security forces soared by 35 percent in 2016, with 6,800 soldiers and police killed.

The insurgents have carried out more complex attacks against security forces in 2017.

In April more than 140 soldiers are believed to have been killed on a base outside the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, one of the deadliest ever Taliban attacks on a military installation.

While in early March gunmen disguised as doctors stormed the Sardar Daud Khan hospital -- the country's largest military hospital -- in Kabul, killing dozens.
According to the Defense Ministry, between 26 and 30 military personnel are dead and over 80 Taliban militants have been either killed or wounded amid intense fighting at a military base in Kandahar Province.