BAGHLAN-E-MARKAZI, Afghanistan — In a chaotic day of violence throughout Afghanistan, scores of police officers, soldiers and civilians were killed by insurgents who, in four separate attacks, overran a major military base, killed a police chief, destroyed a police post and bombed a memorial event.

In the capital, Kabul, a commemoration for a man some Afghans regard as a hero turned violent as suicide bombers attacked celebrants, killing seven, and the police arrested more than 100 mourners for shooting in the air.

The deadliest single episode was the destruction by Taliban insurgents of an army base in Baghlan Province on Sunday, with at least 22 and as many as 40 security force members killed, local officials said.

The military installation was the second major base to fall to the insurgents in Baghlan Province in the past month, and the third in northern Afghanistan during the same period.</s>Mr. Jawed said it was a “check post” that included representatives of the Afghan National Army and other units. Mr. Jawed also denied that the Taliban had captured it, saying it had been abandoned by defenders. “We don’t know the number of A.N.A. forces in the check post and the number of casualties yet,” Mr. Jawed said.

Mr. Nemati said he did not know how many people had been killed in the fighting, but Mohammad Safdar Mohseni, head of the Baghlan provincial council, said that even before the main base fell, the death toll on Saturday included 16 army soldiers, four police special forces officers and two local police officers.

Mangalha village was formerly a Taliban stronghold and the insurgents had surrounded the military base last year, only to have the government reclaim control of the area.

The insurgents destroyed another Afghan military base and a nearby police post in Baghlan Province on Aug. 15, killing 39 soldiers and policemen, according to local officials. That base was also in Baghlan-e-Markazi District, in neighboring Alawuddin village.

That defeat came a day after all 106 soldiers of an Afghan Army company had been either killed or captured by the insurgents at a base called Chinese Camp, in northern Faryab Province, after they repeatedly called for reinforcements and resupply that they claim never arrived.

Also on Sunday, officials said the insurgents had attacked a police post in the Obe District of western Herat Province, late Saturday night, killing nine police officers, according to Gaelany Farhad, spokesman for the Herat governor. Sher Agha Alokozai, the Obe District police chief, said eight insurgents had also been killed.

In central Afghanistan, Taliban insurgents attacked the headquarters of Day Mirdad District in Wardak Province, killing the district police chief, Sayid Yunus, and nine other security officials, according to Abdul Rahman Mangal, spokesman for the governor of Wardak. Mr. Mangal said that 52 of the militants had been killed and 65 others wounded in the attack, which was repulsed.</s>A district police chief was among dozens of security forces killed in Afghanistan in overnight attacks by the Taliban, officials said Sunday.

The insurgent raids occurred in the central eastern Maidan Wardak, western Herat and northern Baghlan provinces, the officials said.

A provincial government spokesman in Maidan Wardak told VOA Taliban fighters stormed the Day Mirdad district center late Saturday, killing its police chief, Said Younus Hussaini, and 10 other security personnel.

Abdul Rahman Mangal dismissed reports, however, that Day Mirdad was on the verge of collapse, saying reinforcements have arrived in the district and a counteroffensive was underway to retake the lost territory in Day Mirdad.

Separately, reports said a coordinated Taliban attack against army and police posts in a troubled district of Baghlan has killed at least 20 Afghan security forces.

Afghanistan’s largest private broadcaster, TOLOnews, said insurgents also overran all the outposts and surrounding villages in the Baghlan-e-Markazi district.

Afghan authorities have not commented on the fighting in Baghlan. The Taliban issued a statement, claiming it killed 60 government forces and seized a large quantity of weaponry placed there. The insurgent group often issues inflated battlefield gains.

Meanwhile, officials in Herat confirmed a late-night Taliban raid against a security checkpoint in the province killed nine Afghan forces and wounded six others. A provincial government spokesman said 10 assailants were also killed in the ensuing gunbattle.

U.S.-trained Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have struggled to contain the Taliban and suffered heavy losses in the process during fighting season. The insurgent group is said to be controlling or hotly contesting about 50 percent of Afghanistan's 407 districts.

Islamic State militants have also increased attacks, particularly against members if the Afghan Shiite community, adding to the challenges of the beleaguered government forces.

In Kabul, hundreds of armed men took to the streets Sunday as part of annual celebrations in honor of the slain Afghan politcal and military leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. The crowd blocked traffic on already congested streets in the Afghan capital and shots into the air, wounding at least 13 civilians, residents and health officials confirmed.

Massoud was assassinated by al-Qaida suicide bombers disguised as journalists on September 9, 2001. The Afghan government has imposed a ban on carrying arms during the annual celebrations but Massoud's supporters rarely respect the restriction.

A Kabul police spokesman, Hashmatullah Stanikzai, said during Sunday's celebrations a suicide bomber on motorbike detonated his explosives near a rally in the city, killing at least one person and wounding several others.</s>Wave of attacks by insurgents kills dozens of Afghan troops

BAGHLAN-E-MARKAZI, Afghanistan — In a chaotic day of violence across Afghanistan, scores of police officers, soldiers and civilians were killed by insurgents who, in four separate attacks, overran a major military base, killed a police chief, destroyed a police post and bombed a memorial event.

In the capital of Kabul, a commemoration for a man some Afghans regard as a hero turned violent as suicide bombers attacked celebrants, killing seven, and police arrested more than 100 mourners for shooting in the air.

The deadliest single incident was the destruction by Taliban insurgents of an army base in Baghlan province on Sunday, with at least 22 and as many as 40 security force members killed, local officials said.

The military installation was the second major base to fall to the insurgents in Baghlan province in the past month, and the third in northern Afghanistan during the same period.

Abdul Hai Nemati, the governor of Baghlan province, said the Afghan National Army base at Mangalha village, in the Baghlan-e-Markazi district, had been completely surrounded by insurgents.

Casualties for Afghan security forces have steadily risen in recent years, as the international coalition has mostly withdrawn and left most of the fighting to Afghans.

In Kabul, hundreds of gunmen took to the streets Sunday, blocking traffic and firing their weapons into the air, defying a ban on such celebrations in honor of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the northern leader who was killed by al Qaeda in 2001. Health officials said 13 people were hospitalized, struck by falling bullets.

Massoud is revered by his fellow Tajiks as the leader of the Northern Alliance fighting the Taliban, but he is regarded by other Afghan groups as a war criminal involved in mass murder of opponents.

In northern Baghlan province, a senior police official said insurgents had captured the Mangalha base by Sunday and had killed 40 soldiers and national and local police officers at that installation and at smaller outposts in the area. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

A spokesman at the Ministry of Defense in Kabul, Ghafoor Ahmad Jawed, claimed that local officials’ description of the military facility as a base was inaccurate. Jawed said it was a “check post” that included representatives of the Afghan National Army and other units. Jawed also denied that the Taliban had captured it, saying it had been abandoned by defenders.

Mangalha village was formerly a Taliban stronghold and the insurgents had surrounded the military base last year, only to have the government reclaim control of the area.

Najim Rahim and Rod Nordland are New York Times writers.</s>BAGHLAN-E-MARKAZI, Afghanistan -- In a chaotic weekend of violence throughout Afghanistan, dozens of police officers, soldiers and civilians were killed by insurgents who, in four separate attacks, overran a military base, killed a police chief, destroyed a police post and bombed a memorial event.

In the capital, Kabul, a commemoration for a man some Afghans regard as a hero but others decry as a war criminal turned violent Sunday as suicide bombers attacked attendees, killing at least two people. Police arrested more than 100 attendees for shooting in the air.

But the deadliest single incident was the destruction by Taliban insurgents of an army base in the northern Baghlan province on Sunday, with at least 22 and as many as 40 security force members killed, local officials said.

The military installation was the second major base to fall to the insurgents in Baghlan province in the past month, and the third in northern Afghanistan during the same period.

Abdul Hai Nemati, the governor of Baghlan province, said the Afghan army base at Mangalha village, in the Baghlan-e-Markazi district just north of the provincial capital of Pul-i-Kumri, had been surrounded by insurgents.

A senior police official said the insurgents had captured the Mangalha base by Sunday and had killed 40 soldiers and national and local police officers at that installation and at smaller outposts in the area.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

A spokesman at the Defense Ministry in Kabul, Ghafoor Ahmad Jawed, claimed that local officials' description of the military facility as a base was inaccurate.

Jawed said it was a "check post" that included representatives of the Afghan army and other units. Jawed also denied that the Taliban had captured it, saying it had been abandoned by defenders.

Mohammad Safdar Mohseni, head of the Baghlan provincial council, said that even before the main base fell, the death toll Saturday was 22: 16 army soldiers, four police special forces officers and two local police officers.

Mangalha village was once a Taliban stronghold. The insurgents surrounded the military base last year, but the government reclaimed control of the area.

The insurgents destroyed another Afghan military base and a nearby police post in Baghlan province on Aug. 15, killing 39 soldiers and policemen, according to local officials. That base was also in Baghlan-e-Markazi district, in neighboring Alawuddin village.

Officials said the loss of the two bases put the entire district at risk and endangered travel on the country's main north-south highway between the capital and northern Afghanistan.

"After the first base collapsed, other military posts are collapsing one after another," said the provincial council chairman, Mohseni. "The Taliban seized a huge amount of weapons, ammunition and vehicles from these collapsed posts. This is a big threat for the security of Baghlan province. The forces on the ground were not supported; they did not receive any reinforcement."

The earlier defeat in Baghlan came a day after another northern base fell, at Chinese Camp, in Faryab province, where all 106 soldiers of an Afghan army company were either killed or captured by the insurgents.

Elsewhere, Taliban insurgents in central Afghanistan attacked the headquarters of Day Mirdad district in Maidan Wardak province on Sunday, killing 10 police officers, including a district chief, and setting off a gunbattle, according to Hakmat Durani, spokesman for the police chief of Maidan Wardak province. He added that dozens of insurgents were killed in retaliatory airstrikes by the air force and that reinforcements were being sent to the area.

In a separate attack late Saturday, militants targeted a checkpoint in the western Herat province, killing nine security force members and wounding six others, said Gelani Farhad, the provincial governor's spokesman. He blamed the attack on the Taliban, saying about 10 insurgents were killed and five wounded during the ensuing gunbattle.

Deaths of Afghan security forces have steadily risen in recent years, as the international coalition has mostly withdrawn and left most of the fighting to the Afghans. In the first 10 months of 2016, the number of Afghan police and soldiers who died totaled 6,785, an average of more than 20 a day, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, a U.S. government agency.

Since then, the agency said, the U.S. military has classified casualty information as secret at the request of the Afghan government. Many local analysts say fatalities have likely increased.

In Kabul, hundreds of gunmen took to the streets Sunday, blocking traffic and firing their weapons into the air, defying a ban on such celebrations in honor of Ahmad Shah Massoud, a leader who was killed by al-Qaida in 2001. Health officials said 13 people were hospitalized, struck by falling bullets.

Young people brandishing knives and machetes joined the unruly mourning processions, and the city's police made more than 100 arrests for public disorder offenses, seizing dozens of weapons and confiscating 30 cars used in the processions, according to Hashmat Stanikzai, a police spokesman.

The raucous and often violent processions have been an annual feature in Kabul for many years. Massoud is revered as the leader of the Northern Alliance fighting the Taliban, but he is regarded by other Afghan groups as a war criminal involved in the mass murder of opponents.

Massoud's family and old comrades distanced themselves from the day's events.

The scenes on Sunday shocked many people.

"I think everyone has had enough," Saad Mohseni, director of the MOBY Group and a man known as Afghanistan's media mogul, said in a tweet.

"They can commemorate at a stadium or somewhere out of the city. Kabul, a city of 5 million, cannot get hijacked because of a few hundred people," Mohseni wrote.

At Massoud Square, near the U.S. Embassy, security officials shot and apparently killed a man they said was a would-be suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest. Later, another suicide bomber, this time on a motorcycle, attacked a Massoud procession, killing at least two people, according to Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh. He said another 10 people were hospitalized, some in critical condition.

Information for this article was contributed by Najim Rahim and Rod Nordland of The New York Times; by Sayed Salahuddin of The Washington Post; and by staff members of The Associated Press.</s>(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Taliban insurgents have launched separate attacks on Afghan security forces in the country’s north, killing at least 37, provincial officials said Monday.

Mohammad Yusouf Ayubi, head of the provincial council in Kunduz province, said that at least 13 security forces were killed in an attack on a checkpoint they were manning in Dashti Archi district, with another 15 security forces wounded there. 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 directions, 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 pro-government 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 were wounded during the Monday morning battle.

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

In another report from northern Sari Pul province, provincial police chief Gen. Abdul Qayum Baqizai said that Taliban attacked checkpoints of the army and pro-government militia near the provincial capital, Sari Pul city.

Two pro-government militia fighters were killed and two others wounded, he said, but had no details on any possible casualties among the army.

“The Taliban’s attack has been repelled, but sporadic gun battles are underway at the outskirts of the city,” he added.

The Taliban hasn’t yet commented on the fighting in Sari Pul province.</s>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 pro-government 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, pro-government 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's attack has been repelled, but sporadic gun battles are underway at the outskirts of the city," Baqizai added.

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

Since a June cease-fire 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 well-coordinated assaults across the country.

During the three-day cease-fire, pictures circulated of Taliban arm-in-arm 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.

Since 2014 ANSA has taken the lead in the war against insurgents, with the U.S. and NATO providing support and training. Yet the Taliban have increased in strength and, according to the special inspector general, nearly half the country is either under their direct control or deeply influenced by them.

A local affiliate of the Islamic State group has also emerged in the past years and carried out brazen and increasingly deadly attacks, most often targeting civilians and the country's minority Shiite Muslims. The Taliban and the Islamic State affiliate are enemies and have attacked each other's forces. The Taliban has also denied responsibility for attacks on Shiites, which IS has claimed.</s>The Islamist Taliban in northern Afghanistan has captured a strategically important district near the border with Turkmenistan and threatened a provincial capital, killing dozens of Afghan troops in a series of battlefield attacks.

 

 During the past three days, the insurgents stepped up battlefield attacks across the country and have overrun territory and killed more than 80 personnel of the Afghan National Defense and Security Force (ANDSF) being trained and advised by the U.S. military.

 

 Officials said Monday Taliban fighters stormed Khamyab district in Jowzjan province from multiple directions and captured it overnight. Provincial police chief, General Faqir Mohammad, told VOA government forces withdrew from the area to avoid civilian casualties.

 

 The officer declined to discuss casualties among his forces, though reports said the fighting left eight police personnel dead and several others wounded.

 

 Clashes were raging in parts of Khamab and telecommunication services remained suspended since the fighting erupted for the control of the key district, according to members of Jowzjan provincial councils. The fighting is taking place about 170 kilometers north of the provincial capital of Sheberghan.

 

 Separately, the Taliban's a so-called "red unit" commando force stormed police outposts in Dashti-e-Archi area in Kunduz province and killed 18 security forces, Afghan officials said. The attack near the provincial capital, also called Kunduz, wounded 24 police personnel. Kunduz has changed hands several times in the past three years and it remains under pressure from the Taliban.



Intense fighting was also raging in the nearby Sar-e-Pul province where a multi-pronged Taliban offensive late Sunday captured army and police posts around the provincial capital. Clashes were ongoing in the area and the city, also called Sar-e-Pul, could collapse to the Taliban unless reinforcements arrived in time, warned a provincial government spokesman. 

 

 The fighting in Sar-e-Pul and Jowzjan has closed the main highway linking the two northern provinces. Insurgents also killed at least 14 Afghan policemen and wounded six others in a raid on police posts in Dara Suf district of northern Samangan province.

 

 Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for attacks in northern provinces,saying they killed more than 100pro-government forces, though the rebel battlefield details are often inflated.

 

 Meanwhile, Afghan and Taliban officials made conflicting claims Monday about who was in control of Dai Mirdad district in the central eastern Maidan Wardak province.

 

 The Taliban assaulted the district a day earlier and killed 13 security forces, including the police chief of Dai Mirdad.

 

 Provincial council members have confirmed the insurgents entered the district center late Sunday following heavy clashes with government forces. Afghan officials, however, denied reports they have lost Dai Mirdad to the Taliban.

 

 The Baghlan-e-Markazi district in another troubled northern Afghan province of Baghlan is also under attack from the Taliban.



Officials confirmed on Sunday that ongoing clashes in the areas killed more than 20 Afghan security forces while more than a dozen army and police checkpoints as well as several surrounding villages have fallen to the Taliban.

 

 The Taliban has held more Afghan territory than at any time since the 2001 U.S. military invasion of the country. The Afghan government currently "controls or influences" around 56 percent of the country while the rest is controlled or hotly contested by the Taliban, according to American military assessments.

 

 While Afghan forces are struggling to combat the Taliban, militants linked to the regional branch of Islamic State, known as Khorasan Province (ISK-P), have also increased attacks, particularly against the country's minority Hazara Shi'ite community, adding to the problems of the Kabul government. IS-plotted suicide bombings, many of them hitting the capital, Kabul, have killed scores of Afghan civilians in recent weeks.</s>The Latest: More Taliban attacks reported on Afghan forces

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Latest on violence in Afghanistan (all times local):

Zahir Wahdat, provincial governor of Sari Pul province says that the Taliban have killed at least 17 Afghan security forces and wounded three others in attacks in different parts of the province.

Wahdat said that the attacks were all repelled by the security forces and Taliban also had heavy casualties during the gun battle.

"The casualty could rise as still we are getting more reports," Wahdat added. He said that 39 Taliban fighters were also killed and 14 others were wounded in the battles.

The attacks in the province Taliban launch their attacks in several directions, in Sayyad district a police check point over run which later burned down and several other areas were under even close to Sari Pul city the capital city.

An Afghan official says that the Taliban has attacked police forces and a pro-government militia in the country's north, killing 14 of the troops, bringing the death toll from overnight fighting into Monday to 35.

Sediq Azizi, spokesman for the provincial governor in Samangan province says that six others were also wounded in the Taliban attack in Dara Suf district.

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

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

An Afghan official says the Taliban has attacked Afghan security forces in the country's north, killing at least 21.

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

Meanwhile in Jawzjan province, Provincial Police Chief Gen. Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani says Fighting Monday morning with Taliban in Khamyab district left at least eight police killed, forcing the troops to withdraw from a district headquarters to avoid civilian causalities after intense fighting. Three other police were wounded, he added, while seven Taliban were killed and eight were wounded.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Insurgents killed at least 29 Afghan security forces in separate attacks as many marked the 17th anniversary of the killing of a prominent anti-Taliban leader, officials said Sunday.

Hakmat Durani, spokesman for the police chief of Maidan Wardak province, said the Taliban attacked a district headquarters west of Kabul late Saturday, killing 10 police officers, including a district chief, and setting off a gunbattle. He added that dozens of insurgents were killed in retaliatory airstrikes by the air force, and that reinforcements were being sent to the area.

In a separate attack late Saturday, militants targeted a checkpoint in the western Herat province, killing nine security forces and wounding six others, said Gelani Farhad, the provincial governor's spokesman. He blamed the attack on the Taliban, saying around 10 insurgents were killed and five wounded during the ensuing gunbattle.

Meanwhile in northern Baghlan province, Taliban fighters attacked security check points, killing 5 army soldiers, according to Ghafor Ahmad Jawed, spokesman for the Defense Ministry. He added that a gunbattle is still underway there and that reinforcements were being sent to the area.

Zabihullah Shuja, spokesman for the provincial police chief in Baghlan, said four police officers were killed in that attack.

No one claimed responsibility for either attack.

The attacks came on the eve of the anniversary of the killing of Ahmad Shah Masoud, who led the resistance against the Taliban in the late 1990s and was killed by suicide bombers two days before the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. The U.S. responded to the attacks by invading Afghanistan to topple the Taliban, which had harbored al-Qaida operatives.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber targeted a convoy of mourners marking the anniversary, killing at least two people, according to Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh. He said another 10 people were hospitalized, some in critical condition.

A police official who was not authorized to speak with the media said that at least seven people were killed and more than 25 others were wounded in the suicide attack that targeted the mourners in Kabul.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said that earlier Sunday another suicide attacker was shot dead by police in Kabul before he could detonate his explosives.

Afghan government officials commemorated Masoud's death on Sunday by laying flowers at his monument in Kabul. Supporters of Masoud, including young people who came of age long after his death, fired guns in the air in an expression of mourning.

At least 13 people were wounded by the stray bullets, Majroh said.
Dozens of people are killed in four separate attacks by the Taliban. An army base is destroyed in Baghlan Province.