File photo: A member of the Afghan security forces stands guard next to damaged army vehicles after a Taliban attack in Ghazni city, Afghanistan August 15, 2018.
In a string of coordinated armed assaults in Afghanistan, the Taliban killed more than 50 security personnel while the government forces killed at least 150 militants, officials and local media confirmed on Monday.
Amruddin Danishjo, member of the Jawzjan provincial council, told Anadolu Agency the Taliban overran a number of security check points in Khamaab district of the province, killing 10 security personnel. The Taliban have also surrounded 50 security personnel in the district center, cutting their supply lines.
A number of former pro-government militants have joined the Taliban in Jawzjan, he added.
According to local Tolo News, the Taliban have created check points on the main highway linking Jawzjan with neighboring Sar-e-Pul province, posing a grim threat to the provincial center.
Zabihullah Amani, governor of Sar-e-Pul, urged the Kabul government to urgently send additional troops to safeguard the province from falling to the Taliban.
Meanwhile, officials in Madian Wardak province confirmed on Monday scores of security personnel were killed in multiple raids on check points by the Taliban in the Daimurad district since Sunday night.
Abdul Waheed, secretary of the provincial council, told Anadolu Agency the security forces pushed Taliban out of the district center after deadly clashes resulting in killings of more than 40 security personnel.
Deadly clashes have also been reported in Kunduz province bordering Tajikistan.
The Ministry of Defense noted in an official statement that 52 Taliban were killed in Maidan Wardak and at least 100 more in Paktia, Baghlan, Uruzgan, Ghazni, Helmand, Farah and Nangarhar provinces following air and ground operations.
U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and the top U.S. general arrived in Kabul on Friday to meet the new commander of NATO troops in the country and discuss progress on peace talks with the Taliban, despite a deteriorating security situation and turmoil within the Afghan government.Mattis arrived in Afghanistan accompanied by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine General Joseph Dunford. US, India seek to deepen defense ties and sign key accord
US Defence Secretary makes unannounced visit to Afghanistan
An Afghan policeman shot dead at least eight fellow officers, burned their bodies and took their weapons to join Taliban militants, provincial officials said on Thursday, adding to the toll from dozens of insider attacks in this year alone.The latest insider attack occurred in northeastern Takhar province, and came just days after a U.S. soldier was killed by an Afghan policeman in eastern Logar province, the second American to be killed in an insider attack this year."The incident happened early Thursday morning, after a local police opened fire on his colleagues sleeping in a checkpoint in Khwaja Ghar district," Takhar provincial police spokesman, Khalil Asir said. He said the bodies were later set on fire and burned.The perpetrator was apparently connected with the Taliban, Asir said, adding that he fled to the group taking weapons.Turkey condemns terror attacks in Afghan capitalInsider attacks by Afghan soldiers or police or by attackers wearing uniform have been a major problem in recent years. There are far more insider attacks on Afghan security forces than on Western forces.Between December and May, there were 47 so-called "green-on-green" attacks involving members of the Afghan security forces turning on their colleagues, with casualties from insider attacks up 50 percent, according to a Pentagon report in June.In a separate incident, 11 members of the security forces were killed after Taliban stormed several checkpoints in the western province of Badghis, late on Wednesday.The attacks happened in Ab Kamari district, provincial spokesman, Jamshid Shahabi said, adding that in a clash lasting several hours, 24 Taliban insurgents were killed or wounded.
Eight Afghan police killed in insider attack
Turkey has condemned Wednesday's twin suicide attacks in Afghan capital Kabul which killed 20 people and injured 70 others.In a statement on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said it learned "with sorrow" that successive terrorist attacks perpetrated at a sports facility in Kabul resulted in the loss of lives and left many others wounded, including members of security forces and journalists."We condemn this heinous terrorist attack and wish Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives, speedy recovery to the wounded and convey our condolences to the friendly Government and the brotherly people of Afghanistan," it said.
Turkey condemns terror attacks in Afghan capital