KABUL (Reuters) – Dozens of bodies of Afghan soldiers have been found in a military base that Taliban militants stormed last week in the embattled southern province of Uruzgan, officials said on Thursday.

The attack in Chinartu district last Friday underlined the ferocity of fighting in many areas of Afghanistan even as speculation has increased about a possible ceasefire during a religious holiday this month.

“We have discovered and transported 40 bodies from the area, so far,” district governor Faiz Mohammad said, adding that a number of members of the security forces were still missing.

News of the attack only began filtering out over the past two days. Muhammad Radmanish, a spokesman for the ministry of defence, said 27 Afghan soldiers were killed and five wounded.

The base was back under control of security forces, said Radmanish but the attack has caused significant damage and weapons losses.

Amir Muhammad Barekzai, a member of the provincial council, said some soldiers appeared to have been shot after they were captured but it was not possible to obtain independent confirmation.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban said 46 members of the Afghan security forces were killed in the Uruzgan clashes.

“Afghan soldiers were not killed in Taliban detention centres,” he said.

The attack underlines the heavy losses being suffered by security forces as they fight the Taliban.

A U.S. Congressional watchdog, SIGAR, said in a report last year the losses were “shockingly high” but Afghan authorities no longer release overall casualty data.

The Taliban are fighting the Western-backed government to restore their version of sharia, or Islamic law, after they were driven out by U.S.-led forces in 2001.

(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Mohammad Stanekzai; Editing by Nick Macfie) </s> Afghan forces encircled by Taliban in provincial capital, officials say

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Exhausted Afghan security forces were surrounded on Friday by Taliban fighters in the capital of Afghanistan's south-central province of Uruzgan, a day after fighting off a concerted push by the militants, officials said.

The Taliban attack, in one of the country's top opium-producing areas, has exposed how thinly stretched Afghan security forces have become as they try to contain Islamist insurgents in other areas of the country.

Taliban insurgents had battled their way on Thursday to within a few hundred metres (yards) of key government buildings in Tarin Kot, the provincial capital home to as many as 70,000 people, while many local leaders fled to a nearby airport.

Bolstered by reinforcements and air support, Afghan troops pushed the Taliban out of the city by nightfall, but the situation remains serious, said Dost Mohammed Nayab, a spokesman for the Uruzgan governor.

"The Taliban are still in surrounding areas of the city," he said. "Our forces are exhausted and are running short of ammunition."

Overnight clashes left at least seven dead on the government side and 30 among the Taliban, said Abdul Karim, head of the Uruzgan provincial council.

He accused the Taliban of using civilians as human shields, complicating efforts to drive out the insurgents. "It will take more attention and effort to clear all areas," he added.

The Taliban on Thursday rejected claims by government officials of high casualties among the attackers.

In a statement, the militant groups said its fighters had overrun more than a dozen checkpoints and seized many weapons and other equipment from retreating troops.

Photos posted online by the Taliban purport to show fighters looting and burning what appears to be a government military base.

At least 69 coalition troops died in Uruzgan during nearly a decade and a half of international military efforts to defeat the Taliban and other militant groups after 2001.

About 16,000 NATO and allied troops remain in Afghanistan, mostly in an advising and counterterrorism mission, but as of Thursday, U.S. officials said they had no troops in Uruzgan, nor had they conducted any air strikes.

The province is in a part of south-central Afghanistan long dominated by the Taliban and warlords who vie for access to its lucrative smuggling routes and illicit drug production. (Reporting by Sayed Sarwar Amani; Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) </s> At least 18 service members of the Afghan National Amy (ANA) were killed, 16 wounded and four others were taken away by the Taliban after a group of fighters of the group attacked an army base in Shah Wali Kot district in southern Kandahar province on Thursday night, a security source said on Friday.

After a group of fighters of the group attacked an army base in Zangitan village in Shah Wali Kot district in southern Kandahar province yesterday, a security source said today.

This is the second attack of the Taliban on army bases in Kandahar in the past week. On Monday May 22, 11 Afghan National Army soldiers were killed and nine others were wounded in a Taliban attack on an army base in Achakzai village in Shah Wali Kot district.

Meanwhile, almost 20 Taliban insurgents were killed in the attack, said 205 Atal military Corps in Kandahar. </s> US warplanes unleashed three strikes on Friday in Afghanistan’s province of Uruzgan, where Afghan security forces remained surrounded by Taliban fighters a day after having fought back a concerted push by the militants.

The Taliban attack, in one of the country’s top opium-producing areas, has exposed how thinly stretched Afghan security forces have become as they try to contain Islamist insurgents in other areas of the country.

Taliban insurgents on Thursday battled their way to within a few hundred metres of key government buildings in Tarin Kot, a city of about 70,000 and capital of the south-central province, while many local leaders fled to a nearby airport.

In the capital, Kabul, the American military command confirmed that its warplanes had conducted at least three air strikes, with aircraft of the Afghan air force also providing support.

Bolstered by reinforcements and air support, Afghan troops pushed the Taliban out of the city by nightfall, but the situation remains serious, said Dost Mohammed Nayab, a spokesman for the Uruzgan governor.

“The Taliban are still in surrounding areas of the city,” he said. “Our forces are exhausted and are running short of ammunition.”

Overnight clashes left at least seven dead on the government side and 30 among the Taliban, said Abdul Karim, head of the Uruzgan provincial council.

He accused the Taliban of using civilians as human shields, complicating efforts to drive out the insurgents. “It will take more attention and effort to clear all areas,” he added.

The Taliban on Thursday rejected government officials’ claims of high casualties among the attackers, saying in a statement they had overrun more than a dozen checkpoints and seized many weapons and other equipment from retreating troops.

Photos posted online by the Taliban purport to show fighters looting and burning what appears to be a government military base.

About 16,000 NATO and allied troops remain in Afghanistan, mostly in advisory and counterterrorism roles, but also regularly launching air strikes in support of Afghan operations.

At least 69 coalition troops died in Uruzgan during nearly a decade and a half of international military efforts to defeat the Taliban and other militant groups after 2001.

The province is in a part of Afghanistan long dominated by the Taliban and warlords who vie for access to its lucrative smuggling routes and illicit drug production. </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> Kabul: At least 18 Afghan soldiers were killed in an attack by the Taliban on a military base in Kandahar province, a local media report said on Friday.

Sixteen persons were wounded and four others were taken away by Taliban militants after the attack on the base in Shah Wali Kot district on Thursday night, Tolo News reported.

According to the report, the Taliban insurgents also suffered casualties.

This is the second attack in Shah Wali Kot this week. Eleven Afghan National Army soldiers were killed and nine others wounded in another Taliban attack on an army base in Achakzai village of the district on Monday.

Despite the attacks, Defence Ministry spokesperson Dawlat Waziri said "the security situation of the district is good and it is under control of our security forces".

Also, last week, 20 policemen were killed and a dozen more wounded in Taliban attacks on several checkposts in the neighbouring Zabul province.

The attacks were part of the "spring offensive" launched by the Taliban in late April. </s> KABUL, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Taliban forces were fighting within the capital of Afghanistan's central province of Uruzgan on Thursday, threatening government offices as the leadership fled to the airport, officials said.

Militants had fought their way to within a few hundred metres of the governor's compound and police headquarters while gun battles spread in the provincial capital of Tarin Kot, a city of about 70,000 people, said provincial police chief Wais Samim.

The militant offensive, and the apparent government collapse in some areas, was reminiscent of the Taliban's speedy but brief capture of Kunduz city last year, the first time the group had seized a provincial capital since they lost power in 2001.

Top provincial leaders in Uruzgan had retreated to the airport, which houses an Afghan military base, according a police official who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In separate phone interviews with Reuters, security officials were already assigning blame for the apparent collapse of the defences.

Police chief Samim said many of the city's police had made deals with the Taliban and left their checkpoints without a fight, while another police official accused the province's senior leadership of abandoning the city.

Late on Wednesday, the Taliban released a statement promising government forces protection if they surrendered peacefully.

The city's prison had fallen to the advancing militants, but its occupants had previously been transferred to the airport, said Abdul Karim, head of the Uruzgan provincial council.

In a statement online, the Taliban said their fighters had entered the city and overrun at least seven checkpoints as well as the prison, with city officials taking the prisoners as "hostages" and fleeing to the airport.

"Street to street clashes are currently taking place against the enemy inside the city," the statement said.

Last year, Kunduz was retaken by the government only after nearly two weeks of fighting, with American special forces and warplanes backing up elite Afghan troops.

A spokesman for the U.S. military command in Kabul said officials were monitoring the situation, but as of Wednesday there were no coalition advisers in Uruzgan and no American air strikes had been conducted this week.

At least 69 coalition troops died in Uruzgan province during nearly a decade and a half of international military efforts to defeat the Taliban and other militant groups after 2001. (Reporting by Mohammed Stanekzai in Lashkar Gah and Sayed Sarwar Amani in Kandahar. Writing by Josh Smith. Editing by Nick Macfie) </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
At least 40 bodies of Afghan National Army soldiers are found in a military base in Urozgan that Taliban forces stormed last week.