The coordinated attack is another stinging blow to NATO-backed Afghan forces.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - At least 20 Afghan policemen were killed early Sunday when Taliban fighters stormed multiple security outposts in the volatile southern province of Zabul, officials said, as the insurgents escalate their annual spring offensive.

Local officials made desperate calls to Afghan television stations to seek attention as they were unable to get hold of senior authorities for help, highlighting the disarray in security ranks.

The coordinated attack is another stinging blow to NATO-backed Afghan forces. It comes just a month after the Taliban killed at least 135 security forces in northern Balkh province, in the deadliest insurgent attack on an Afghan military base.

"This morning, a group of Taliban fighters armed with heavy and light weapons launched coordinated attacks on several police checkpoints in Shah Joy district of Zabul province, killing 20 policemen," provincial governor Bismillah Afghanmal told AFP.

A district official told AFP that at least 15 others were wounded in the fighting.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on their website. The raid, the latest in a series of brazen Taliban assaults, underscores the insurgents’ growing strength more than 15 years since they were ousted from power by the US invasion of 2001.

Taliban militants launched their annual "spring offensive" in late April, heralding a surge in fighting as the US tries to craft a new Afghan strategy and NATO considers sending more troops to break the stalemate against the resurgent militants.

The offensive normally marks the start of the fighting season, though this winter the Taliban continued to battle government forces.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last month warned of "another tough year" for security forces in Afghanistan.

His comments came after Taliban fighters dressed in army uniforms and armed with suicide vests attacked a military base outside the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif last month, killing at least 135 policemen and soldiers.

The brazen attack prompted fury in Afghanistan, leading to the resignations of defence minister Abdullah Habibi and army chief Qadam Shah Shaheem.

The US State Department denounced the "barbaric, unconscionable" attack, but stressed that America has no intention of giving up on the country despite more than 15 years of brutal war.

The Pentagon has asked the White House to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan to break the deadlocked fight against the Taliban.

US troops in Afghanistan number about 8,400 today, and there are another 5,000 from NATO allies, who also mainly serve in an advisory capacity -- a far cry from the US presence of more than 100,000 six years ago.</s>Sign up for one of our email newsletters.

KABUL — Taliban militants launched surprise attacks against multiple police checkpoints in southern Afghanistan and killed at least 25 officers, officials said Sunday.

Officials in Zabul province said that militants from several provinces carried out the attacks against government installations in the provincial capital, Qalat, and three police posts in Shahjoy district late Saturday.

The provincial governor, Besmellah Afghanmal, said 25 police officers were killed and six wounded. The victims included members of both the Afghan National Police and the Afghan Local Police, a U.S.-funded government militia that provides security in rural areas.

Officials said some civilians had also been harmed, but there were no immediate details.

Reached by phone Sunday, Bakht Mohammad, an Afghan Local Police commander in Shahjoy, said fighting with the Taliban was continuing.

“I can see some dead bodies of the Taliban on the ground,” Mohammad said, adding that a Taliban leader had been killed in the clashes.

“The Taliban fighters are surrounded. We will expel them all.”

Atta Jan Haqbayan, head of the elected provincial council in Zabul, said Taliban fighters from three provinces were attempting to capture the district, part of the militant group's drive to increase its share of territory in outlying parts of Afghanistan. The U.S. military estimates that more than 40 percent of the Afghan population lives under areas of either total or partial Taliban control.

The Afghan security forces “suffered big casualties and the fighting is still going on,” Haqbayan said. “We also have civilian casualties. The (Afghan Local Police) is running out of ammo and isn't getting backup on time.”

Tolo News, an Afghan news organization, said that local officials in Zabul complained that they could not immediately reach their superiors to send assistance after the fighting began.

Shafiqullah, a 28-year-old school principal in Shahjoy who goes by only one name, said he took shelter in his house and could hear bullets and rocket fire nearby.

“The attack was huge,” he said Sunday afternoon. “But half an hour ago some backup arrived (for Afghan forces) and the fighting resumed.”

The reports underscored worries that the Afghan security forces are often outgunned by the Taliban, which is adept at mounting surprise attacks.

President Trump is reportedly weighing whether to send as many as 5,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan to increase assistance to Afghan soldiers and police. There are currently fewer than 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

In a separate incident in Kabul, gunmen attacked a guest house occupied by foreign aid workers, killing a German woman and an Afghan security guard, authorities said. A second woman, a Finnish national, was missing and Afghan officials believe she was kidnapped.

The two women were members of the staff of Operation Mercy, a Swedish charity organization, said Cathy Stanley, a spokeswoman for the group.

Foreign nationals have often been targeted by armed men and militant groups in Afghanistan. In August, an American and an Australian working for the American University of Afghanistan were kidnapped by gunmen in Kabul.

In January, the Taliban released a video in which the men pleaded with Trump - who was about to be inaugurated - to secure their release. They are still being held.</s>Afghanistan, May 21: At least 20 Afghan policemen were killed on Sunday when Taliban fighters stormed multiple security outposts in the volatile southern province of Zabul.

A group of Taliban fighters armed with heavy and light weapons launched coordinated attacks on several police checkpoints in Shah Joy district of Zabul province, killing 20 policemen," provincial governor Bismillah Afghanmal told reporters, adding that at least 15 others were wounded in the fighting.

Taliban militants launched their annual spring offensive normally marking the start of the fighting season, though this winter the Taliban continued to battle government forces. An attack on a military base in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif left at least 135 security forces dead last month.</s>KANDAHAR - At least 20 Afghan policemen were killed early Sunday when Taliban fighters stormed multiple security outposts in the volatile southern province of Zabul, officials said, as the insurgents escalate their annual spring offensive.

Local officials made desperate calls to Afghan television stations to seek attention as they were unable to get hold of senior authorities for help, highlighting the disarray in security ranks.

The coordinated attack is another stinging blow to NATO-backed Afghan forces. It comes just a month after the Taliban killed at least 135 security forces in northern Balkh province, in the deadliest insurgent attack on an Afghan military base.

“This morning, a group of Taliban fighters armed with heavy and light weapons launched coordinated attacks on several police checkpoints in Shah Joy district of Zabul province, killing 20 policemen,” provincial governor Bismillah Afghanmal told AFP.

A district official told AFP that at least 15 others were wounded in the fighting.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on their website. The raid, the latest in a series of brazen Taliban assaults, underscores the insurgents’ growing strength more than 15 years since they were ousted from power by the US invasion of 2001.

Taliban militants launched their annual “spring offensive” in late April, heralding a surge in fighting as the US tries to craft a new Afghan strategy and NATO considers sending more troops to break the stalemate against the resurgent militants.

The offensive normally marks the start of the fighting season, though this winter the Taliban continued to battle government forces.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis last month warned of “another tough year” for security forces in Afghanistan. His comments came after Taliban fighters dressed in army uniforms and armed with suicide vests attacked a military base outside the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif last month, killing at least 135 policemen and soldiers.

The brazen attack prompted fury in Afghanistan, leading to the resignations of defence minister Abdullah Habibi and army chief Qadam Shah Shaheem.

The US State Department denounced the “barbaric, unconscionable” attack, but stressed that America has no intention of giving up on the country despite more than 15 years of brutal war.

The Pentagon has asked the White House to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan to break the deadlocked fight against the Taliban.

US troops in Afghanistan number about 8,400 today, and there are another 5,000 from NATO allies, who also mainly serve in an advisory capacity - a far cry from the US presence of more than 100,000 six years ago.

A German aid worker and an Afghan guard were killed and a Finnish woman kidnapped as gunmen stormed an international guest house in Kabul, officials said Sunday, underscoring rising insecurity in the war-torn country.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack late Saturday on the guest house run by Swedish charity Operation Mercy in the heart of the Afghan capital.

The interior ministry confirmed the brazen Kabul attack, the latest in a series of assaults on aid workers in Afghanistan. “A Finnish lady was kidnapped... last night at 11.30. A German lady and an Afghan guard were killed,” interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said on Twitter.

Authorities in Helsinki confirmed the development, saying they had contacted the family and employer of the kidnapped person and were investigating the incident in coordination with their counterparts in Kabul.

“At the moment, the identity of the kidnappers is not known. Finland urges immediate release of the kidnapped person,” the Finnish foreign ministry said in a statement.

Operation Mercy’s director Scott Breslin told Swedish news agency TT that he was holding a crisis meeting over the incident. “We know that she’s missing, we will send out a press release later,” Breslin said in a brief statement.

Operation Mercy works with local Afghan communities in areas such as reducing infant mortality and women’s empowerment.

The kidnapping of foreigners has been on the rise, but the threat of abductions is even greater for Afghans.

Kabul is plagued by criminal gangs who stage abductions for ransom, often targeting foreigners and wealthy locals, and sometimes handing them over to insurgent groups.

Aid workers in particular have increasingly been casualties of a surge in violence in recent years.

Judith D’Souza, a 40-year-old Indian employee of the Aga Khan Foundation, a prominent NGO that has long worked in Afghanistan, was rescued last July nearly a month after she was abducted near her residence in central Kabul.

Katherine Jane Wilson, a well-known Australian NGO worker, was kidnapped in April last year in the city of Jalalabad near the border with Pakistan. Wilson was released in March this year.</s>Alwaght- At least 20 Afghan policemen were killed and more than a dozen others were injured in Afghanistan’s volatile south after Taliban militants attacked their checkpoints early on Sunday.

The attacks are still underway in Zabul province where the militants stormed multiple security outposts.

"This morning, a group of Taliban militants armed with heavy and light weapons launched coordinated attacks on several police checkpoints in the Shah Joy district of Zabul Province, killing 20 policemen,” said Bismillah Afghanmal, the provincial governor.

A district official said that at least 15 police officers also sustained injuries in the fighting and that reinforcements were sent to secure the area.

The Taliban later claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks on its website

Dozens of Taliban, who have been waging a 16-year-long battle against the Western-backed government in Kabul, were also reported killed and wounded, Afghanmal said.

A couple of days earlier, the Taliban militants launched attacks on parts of the central-eastern Afghan city of Ghazni, driving a Humvee packed with explosives into the entrance of a district governor’s compound in the assaults.

The latest development comes just a month after the Taliban killed at least 135 security forces in northern Balkh Province, in the deadliest raid on an Afghan military base.

In late April, the militant group announced the start of its so-called spring offensive, a heightened campaign of bombings, ambush attacks, and other raids across Afghanistan that begins as weather conditions improve.

Over 1,000 members of Afghan security forces as well as over 700 civilians have so far been killed this year, according to Afghan authorities and figures cited by the US-based Congressional watchdog Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.</s>At least 20 Afghan policemen were killed in Taliban ambushes in south central Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday, the latest in a string of insurgent attacks that come as the Nato-led military mission considers sending thousands of additional troops to the war-torn nation.

Fighting is ongoing in Zabul province, where the police were attacked in Shah Joi district, provincial governor Bismullah Afghanmal said. He said the Taliban had ambushed police in the areas of Chino and Ghulam Rabat.

“The report we have right now indicates that 20 policemen are martyred and 10 others are wounded. The number may increase,” Afghanmal told Reuters.

Dozens of Taliban fighters were also reported killed and wounded, Afghanmal said.

The attacks were part of “Operation Mansouri,” the Taliban spring offensive announced at the end of April, the group said in a statement.

“So far several enemy posts have been overrun, inflicting heavy tolls on enemy as well as seizing a good deal of ammunition,” the statement said, adding that fighters had also overrun a government checkpoint in Zabul's Qalat district.

Reinforcements sent to the area where the police had been ambushed were also attacked, said Gul Islam Seyal, a spokesman for the Zabul governor.

Fighting was also ongoing in Zabul's Dai Chopan district, but the extent of casualties was unknown, Afghanmal said.

In neighbouring Ghazni province, Taliban fighters launched a three-pronged attack on parts of the provincial capital on Friday, driving a Humvee packed with explosives into the entrance of a district governor's compound during the assault.

Separately on Sunday, Taliban claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on Saturday on a bank in Paktia province, which left at least six people dead, including three attackers.

The Taliban offensives come as American and allied officials are considering whether to send 3,000 to 5,000 more military advisers to help train and assist the Afghan security forces battling a 16-year-long insurgency led by the Taliban.

So far, US President Donald Trump, who took office in January, has offered little clarity about whether he might approve more forces for Afghanistan, where some 8,400 US troops remain despite the declared end of combat operations at the end of 2014.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday he had not yet made a recommendation on troop levels, but would be presenting his plan to Trump soon.</s>KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: At least 20 Afghan policemen were killed in Taliban ambushes in south central Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday, as security forces sought to dislodge insurgents in multiple districts.

Fighting is ongoing in Zabul province, where the police were attacked in Shah Joi district, provincial governor Bismullah Afghanmal said. He said the Taliban had ambushed police in the areas of Chino and Ghulam Rabat.

"The report we have right now indicates that 20 policemen are martyred and 10 others are wounded. The number may increase," Afghanmal told Reuters.

Dozens of Taliban, who have been waging a 16-year-long insurgency against the Western-backed government in Kabul, were also reported killed and wounded, Afghanmal said.

Reinforcements sent to the area where the police had been ambushed were also attacked, said Gul Islam Seyal, a spokesman for the Zabul governor.

Fighting was also ongoing in Zabul's Dai Chopan district, but the extent of casualties was unknown, Afghanmal said.

In neighboring Ghazni province, Taliban fighters launched a three-pronged attack on parts of the provincial capital on Friday, driving a Humvee packed with explosives into the entrance of a district governor's compound during the assault.

Separately on Sunday, Taliban claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on Saturday on a bank in Paktia province, which left at least six people dead, including three attackers.</s>Taliban attacks across Afghanistan continued over the weekend, with a surprise attack from Taliban forces from the surrounding area converging on the Zabul Province capital of Qalat, in the nation’s south, killing at least 25 police and wounding 6 others.

Details are still emerging on the situation, with officials saying there are unconfirmed reports of civilian casualties, and Afghan Local Police (ALP) figures saying that fighting against the Taliban in the area is still ongoing, and that they believe they will ultimately defeat them.

While officials confirmed the 25 police killed, they said only some were Afghan National Police, with the rest from ALP, which is a police force in name only, and in much of the country is a quasi-independent collection of US-funded militias run by former warlords.

The Taliban is attacking targets across the country at any given time, and gaining considerable territory in the process, holding more now than at any time since the war began. This is one of the biggest pushes into Zabul in some time, however.
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• Israeli Police Evict Old City Residents Ahead of Trump Visit - May 21st, 2017</s>At least twenty policemen lost their lives during clashes with the Taliban insurgents in southern Zabul province of Afghanistan.

Provincial governor Bismillah Afghanmal said Sunday that the policemen suffered the casualties during the clashes late on Saturday night.

Afghanmal further added that the clashes between the policemen and the Taliban insurgents erupted after scores of militants launched coordinated attacks on security posts in Shahjoi district.

He said several Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel are also among those killed during the clashes.

According to the provincial governor, the Taliban insurgents were busy plotting attacks to take control of Qalat city and finally launched attacks on security posts on Saturday night.

In the meantime, another local official said the Taliban insurgents have managed to take control of Bolan Rubab area in Shahjoi.

The official further added that additional forces have been deployed to the area from the provincial capital of Qalat city to push back the Taliban insurgents.

Zabul is among the volatile provinces in south of Afghanistan where the Taliban insurgents are actively operating in its various districts and often carry out insurgency activities.

Follow Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan News Agency on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Stay updated via RSS</s>Reinforcements from the capital of the province are on their way to the area, the media added.

There are no reports of civilian casualties or casualties among the Taliban insurgents.

Afghanistan has been suffering from unstable political, social and security situation due to the activity of the Daesh (a terrorist group outlawed in Russia) and the Taliban. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces are currently conducting joint offensive operations to combat terrorism across the country.

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A Taliban raid kills at least 20 Afghan police officers in southern Afghanistan.