Taliban kill 14 as ceasefire ends

TALIBAN militants killed at least 14 security forces in two Afghan provinces a day after a mutual three-day ceasefire finished, officials said yesterday.

The militants killed at least seven members of the Afghan national army on Wednesday in the Seya Gird district, north of the capital Kabul, said Wahida Shahkar, the provincial governor’s spokesperson.

Two soldiers were taken hostage by the Taliban, while a further one was wounded, Shahkar said.

Meanwhile, at least seven police officers were killed when the Taliban attacked a checkpoint on the outskirts of Farah’s provincial capital, Farah city, councillors said.

The Taliban also took at least three police officers hostage, the councillor said. The attacks were carried out a day after the three-day ceasefire between the Taliban and the Afghan government ended on Tuesday.

The Afghan government, in what it called a gesture of goodwill to persuade the militants to extend the ceasefire, released 900 Taliban prisoners on Tuesday. However, the Taliban rejected an extension of the three-day ceasefire and said that a lasting ceasefire should be agreed in potential talks.