Taliban attacks on check posts kill 19 Afghan policemen

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - At least 19 personnel of Afghan police have been killed in two separate Taliban attacks, officials confirmed on Sunday.

The attack took place in the restive northern province of Kunduz bordering Tajikistan, and in the southern Zabul provinces.

Hayatullah Amiri, district governor of Khan Abad district, told the local Pashto service of the Radio Free Europe that the groups of the Taliban stormed check posts in the district last night, killing 13 policemen and taking away arms, ammunition and armor vehicles.

“The armed rebels stormed a number of check posts at around 03.00 a.m. local time [230GMT] and the clashes continued for at least two hours. Only one policeman has survived”, he was quoted as saying.

In Zabul, six policemen and 12 militants were killed during a clash in the Arghandab district, head of the district said.

Amirjan Alokozay, the district governor, told Anadolu Agency that groups of the Taliban waged coordinated attacks on six check posts last night.

The Taliban have claimed both the attacks, naming them part of the ongoing Mansuri offensives named after their slain leader Mullah Mansur.

Separately, the Afghan Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the premier spy agency the National Directorate of Security (NDS) have announced killing 102 Taliban militants in the ongoing counter-terrorism offensives in 12 of 34 provinces across the country.