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> At least 18 people were killed in a suicide car bomb attack in Afghanistan’s Khost province on Saturday – the first day of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, Al Jazeera reported. The Taliban has claimed the attack which took place at around 8.30 am on Saturday morning near a bus station and a football field close to a military base in Khost.

“The target of the attack was Afghan police and the United States forces, but most of the victims were civilians,” Mubariz Zadran, spokesperson for the governor of Khost province told Al Jazeera.

The target of the attack was the Khost Provincial Force which is estimated to have around 4,000 fighters operating against the Taliban along the Pakistan border.

Meanwhile, at least 22 militants, six officers and right civilians were killed in Badges on Saturday during clashes between the militants and security forces, reported Reuters. At least 50, including militants and civilians, were left injured in the firing.

The attack comes two days after at least 15 soldiers died in an attack by Taliban in Kandahar in Afghanistan. In the last one week, over 60 security personnel have lost their lives in the various attacks in the country. Last month, the Taliban had killed 140 military men near an Afghan military base in Mazar-e-Sharif. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan officials have revised the number of casualties from a deadly Taliban attack the day before on the Kabul offices of a Britain-based security company to six people killed.

Earlier reports said the assault left 10 dead but Afghanistan’s public health ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh said on Thursday that four of the dead were attackers.

He says 23 people were wounded but didn’t identify any of the casualties. A suicide bomber detonated his explosives on Wednesday as other insurgents battled with Afghan forces near the security company called G4S.

The Taliban say the attack was revenge for a U.S. airstrike hours earlier in southern Afghanistan that killed 30 people, many of them civilians, including children.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claims all 10 dead are foreigners. Insurgents often exaggerate their claims.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Insurgents have killed at least 20 Afghan security forces in separate attacks as many marked the 17th anniversary of the killing of a prominent anti-Taliban leader.

The Taliban attacked a district headquarters west of Kabul late Saturday, killing 10 police, including a district chief, and setting of a gunbattle that was still underway, said Hakmat Durani, spokesman for the police chief of Maidan Wardak province. He said dozens of insurgents were killed in Afghan airstrikes, and that reinforcements were being sent to the area.

In a separate attack late Saturday, militants targeted a checkpoint in the western Herat province, killing nine security forces and wounding six others, said Gelani Farhad, the provincial governor's spokesman. He blamed the attack on the Taliban, saying around 10 insurgents were killed and five wounded during the ensuing gunbattle.

No one claimed responsibility for either attack.

The attacks came on the eve of the anniversary of the killing of Ahmad Shah Masoud, who led the resistance to the Taliban in the late 1990s and was killed by suicide bombers two days before the Sept. 11 attacks. The U.S. responded to the attacks by invading Afghanistan to topple the Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaida.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber targeted a convoy of mourners marking the anniversary, killing at least one person, according to Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said another 10 people were hospitalized, some in critical condition. Earlier, another suicide attacker was shot dead by police in Kabul before he could detonate his payload, Stanikzai said.

Afghan government officials commemorated Masoud's death on Sunday by laying flowers at his monument in Kabul. Supporters of Masoud, including young people who came of age long after his death, fired guns in the air in an expression of mourning.

At least 13 people were wounded by the stray bullets, Majroh said. </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: 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: 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> 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> 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.
32 people were killed by the Taliban while the Taliban lost 25 of their members in shooting attacks across Afghanistan (RadioLiberty)