Taliban attack security forces in north, killing 52

Taliban insurgents launched separate attacks on Afghan security forces in the country’s north, killing at least 52, provincial officials said Monday.

Mohammad Yusouf Ayubi, head of the provincial council in Kunduz province, said that at least 13 security forces were killed and 15 others wounded in an attack on a checkpoint they were manning in Dashti Archi district. The firefight began late Sunday and continued into Monday morning.

Meanwhile in Jawzjan province, Provincial Police Chief Gen. Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani said the Taliban attacked Khamyab district from different sides, forcing Afghan forces to withdraw from the district headquarters to avoid civilian causalities.

“There was intense fighting and we didn’t want civilian houses destroyed, or any civilian casualties,” said Jawzjani. He said that at least eight policemen were killed and three other police were wounded. Seven Taliban were killed and eight were wounded during the gun battle, he added.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the group for the attacks in Kunduz and Jawzjan provinces.

The Taliban also killed another 14 local Afghan policemen and progovernment militiamen in the Dara Suf district of Samangan province, provincial spokesman Sediq Azizi said, adding that six others were also wounded.

Azizi added that three Taliban fighters were killed and four others wounded during the Monday morning battle.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack in Samangan, but Azizi blamed Taliban insurgents that are active in the province and often target Afghan security forces and local, progovernment militias.

Meanwhile in the northern Sari Pul province, the provincial governor, Zahir Wahdat, said that the Taliban killed at least 17 Afghan security forces and wounded three others in attacks across the province.

He said that 39 Taliban fighters were killed and 14 others were wounded in the battles, adding that the death toll could rise.

Gen. Abdul Qayum Baqizai, the provincial police chief, said at least two security forces were killed in the battles.

The Taliban hasn’t yet commented on the fighting in Sari Pul province.

Since a June ceasefire that marked the Islamic holiday of Eid al Fitr, Taliban insurgents have ramped up attacks against Afghanistan’s security forces killing hundreds of security personnel in increasingly wellcoordinated assaults across the country.

During the threeday ceasefire, pictures circulated of Taliban arminarm with Afghan security forces, singing and taking selfies together. Outraged Mohammad Yaqub, the son of the Taliban’s founder, Mullah Mohammed Omar, circulated a harshly worded audio tape condemning the fraternization.

Since then attacks against military installations have been relentless, and on several occasions the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSA) have been outgunned and out maneuvered. Even Washington’s watchdog, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan’s Reconstruction (SIGAR), in successive reports noted weaknesses within the security forces, including desertions, inadequate training and corruption.