At least 17 Afghan security personnel killed in Taliban attacks

People carry an injured man for medical treatment at a hospital in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. File picture: Saifurahaman Safi/Xinhua

People carry an injured man for medical treatment at a hospital in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. File picture: Saifurahaman Safi/Xinhua

Published Jun 20, 2018

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Kabul - At least 17 members of Afghanistan's security forces were killed in overnight Taliban attacks in western Farah province just days after the militants formally ended a three-day ceasefire, officials said early Wednesday.

Twelve members of security forces were killed when militants attacked two checkpoints in Bala Buluk district and five others were killed at a checkpoint located close to the Iranian border in Jawand district, provincial councillors Farid Ahmad Bakhtawar and Khair Mohammad Nawrozi said.

At least three security forces' members were wounded and four went missing in the attacks, Bakhtawar said, adding that the militants who attacked the checkpoint close to the border came from the Iranian side.

The attacks came as militants resumed normal offensives throughout the war-torn country after a three-day ceasefire with the government ended Sunday. 

Millions of Afghans had celebrated the ceasefire and the Muslim Eid holiday on the weekend amid almost surreal scenes of brotherhood between government officials and Taliban militants. The ceasefire was the first since the group lost power in 2001.

Though Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had extended the government's ceasefire duration and requested the Taliban do the same, the militants denied the request.

The Taliban last month overran large parts of the capital of Farah province, Farah City, and killed at least 30 members of security forces.

dpa

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