MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan — At least 27 members of security forces in northern Afghanistan were killed by the Taliban in a series of coordinated attacks on Tuesday, officials said, and dozens of others were wounded.

The deadliest violence took place in Sar-i-Pul Province, where the Taliban attacked Afghan security forces in three areas, killing a total of 21 people, officials said. The officials did not provide a breakdown of casualties.

Zabihullah Amani, the spokesman for the governor of Sar-i-Pul, said the Taliban had simultaneously attacked the center of Sayad District, security outposts along the highway linking Sar-i-Pul with Jowzjan, and a village with oil wells.

“It was a very strong attack,” Mr. Amani said. “Two security outposts were captured by the Taliban; 25 members of security forces were also wounded during the clashes.”</s>MAZAR-I-SHARIF, AFGHANISTAN—At least 27 members of security forces in northern Afghanistan were killed by the Taliban in a series of coordinated attacks on Tuesday, officials said, and dozens of others were wounded. The deadliest violence took place in Sar-i-Pul province, where the Taliban attacked Afghan security forces in three areas, killing a total of 21 people, officials said. The officials did not provide a breakdown of casualties.

Zabihullah Amani, the spokesman for the governor of Sar-i-Pul, said the Taliban had simultaneously attacked the centre of Sayad District, security outposts along the highway linking Sar-i-Pul with Jowzjan, and a village with oil wells. “It was a very strong attack,” Amani said. “Two security outposts were captured by the Taliban; 25 members of security forces were also wounded during the clashes.” The Taliban’s main goal, he said, was to take control of the oil wells in the village of Qashqari. They did not succeed, he added.

Insurgents attacked the centre of Sayad from three directions, said Hayatullah Sayadi, the district governor, killing seven local police officers and wounding eight others. Reinforcements, including the police and intelligence chiefs of the province, were called in to help, but they too were ambushed by the Taliban. It was not clear if there were any casualties in the subsequent ambush. Separately, in the northern province of Balkh, the Taliban struck a security outpost in the Chemtal District, killing six police officers and wounding seven others, said Rahmatullah Khan, a local police commander. “The Taliban seized all weapons and equipment in the outpost,” he said. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered half of the 14,000 American troops in Afghanistan home, even as the 17-year war continues to rage and the Taliban threaten much of the country. For many in the Afghan leadership, the news of the withdrawal was a betrayal. The timing is likely to complicate the American push for peace talks with the Taliban, which require maintaining pressure on the battlefield.

After a series of meetings recently between American diplomats and the Taliban in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, talks between the Americans, the Taliban, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates officials and Pakistan are set to take place in Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks. The Taliban refused to sit down with the Afghan delegation at earlier meetings held in Moscow and the United Arabic Emirates, however, and they have said that they will not meet with the Afghan delegation in Saudi Arabia either. While it remains unclear if the recent meetings will result in negotiations that include Afghan officials, they do appear to have contributed to the Taliban’s growing public outreach efforts in the region: The Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, confirmed on Tuesday that a delegation from the group had visited Tehran on Monday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and possible paths to peace and security in the region.</s>MAZAR-I-SHARIF, AFGHANISTAN—At least 27 members of security forces in northern Afghanistan were killed by the Taliban in a series of coordinated attacks on Tuesday, officials said, and dozens of others were wounded.

The deadliest violence took place in Sar-i-Pul province, where the Taliban attacked Afghan security forces in three areas, killing a total of 21 people, officials said. The officials did not provide a breakdown of casualties.

Zabihullah Amani, the spokesman for the governor of Sar-i-Pul, said the Taliban had simultaneously attacked the centre of Sayad District, security outposts along the highway linking Sar-i-Pul with Jowzjan, and a village with oil wells.

"It was a very strong attack," Amani said. "Two security outposts were captured by the Taliban; 25 members of security forces were also wounded during the clashes."

The Taliban's main goal, he said, was to take control of the oil wells in the village of Qashqari. They did not succeed, he added.

Insurgents attacked the centre of Sayad from three directions, said Hayatullah Sayadi, the district governor, killing seven local police officers and wounding eight others.

Reinforcements, including the police and intelligence chiefs of the province, were called in to help, but they too were ambushed by the Taliban. It was not clear if there were any casualties in the subsequent ambush.

Separately, in the northern province of Balkh, the Taliban struck a security outpost in the Chemtal District, killing six police officers and wounding seven others, said Rahmatullah Khan, a local police commander. "The Taliban seized all weapons and equipment in the outpost," he said.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered half of the 14,000 American troops in Afghanistan home, even as the 17-year war continues to rage and the Taliban threaten much of the country.

For many in the Afghan leadership, the news of the withdrawal was a betrayal. The timing is likely to complicate the American push for peace talks with the Taliban, which require maintaining pressure on the battlefield.</s>At least 23 security personnel have been killed and dozens of others wounded in a series of attacks by the Taliban on security checkpoints in Afghanistan's northern Sar-e-Pul province, officials said on Tuesday.

Fierce gun battles raged for several hours late on Monday in the centre of Sayyad district and outside the provincial capital, Sar-e-Pul, provincial council chief Mohammad Noor Rahmani said.

A high-ranking provincial official with an Afghan spy agency, a local police commander, and an army company commander were among the dead provincial council member Mohammad Asif Sadiqi told dpa news agency.

Sadiqi said at least 25 others were wounded in the attacks that began around 7pm local time (14.30 GMT) and continued for more than seven hours with Taliban fighters overrunning the posts.

The fighters first stormed two security posts in the district centre, Sadiqi added, before a reinforcement convoy that was sent to assist with repelling the Taliban was also ambushed by the armed group.

Taliban fighters have ramped up their attacks on Afghan security forces and government facilities in recent months, leaving troops thinly stretched throughout the country.

Last Tuesday, at least 12 Afghan security forces were killed in Taliban attacks in the northern Faryab and eastern Nangarhar provinces.

The Taliban has rejected Kabul's offer of talks this month in Saudi Arabia where the armed group, fighting to restore strict Islamic law in Afghanistan, will meet the United States officials to further peace efforts.

Representatives from the Taliban, the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Pakistan met in December in the UAE for talks to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan.

But the Taliban has refused to hold formal talks with the Western-backed Afghan government.

The armed group has insisted on first reaching an agreement with the US, which it sees as the main force in Afghanistan since US-led forces toppled the Taliban government in 2001.

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict have intensified after Taliban representatives started meeting US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad earlier this year.

Officials from the warring sides have met at least three times to discuss the withdrawal of international forces and a ceasefire in 2019.

But the US has insisted that any final settlement must be led by the Afghans.</s>Taliban fighters killed more than 20 Afghan security forces in simultaneous raids on a provincial capital and district in northern Afghanistan, an official said on Tuesday, as the city braced for further violence.

Hundreds of militants were outside Sar-e-Pul city, which provincial governor spokesman Zabihullah Amani said was at risk of falling to the Taliban if reinforcements were not sent.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks on security forces across the country, slaughtering police and soldiers in record numbers, as the threat of a US drawdown complicates American-led efforts to end the 17-year conflict.

“The enemy is still amassing forces outside the city,” Amani told AFP. “We have deployed all the forces available in the city, but no reinforcements have arrived from outside so far. The people inside the city are very worried.”

Taliban fighters launched the attacks on Sar-e-Pul and neighbouring Sayad district on Monday night, which Amani said were aimed at seizing control of several oil wells on the outskirts of the city.

At least 21 local forces, including police and intelligence, were killed and another 23 wounded in the attacks, Amani said. “They have attacked the city many times in the past, but this time the threat is more serious,” he said.

A security official, who spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity, put the death toll slightly lower at between 15 and 20 members of local forces. Kabul-based interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi confirmed there had been casualties, but would not provide details.

He said reinforcements had been deployed to Sar-e-Pul and dismissed concerns that the provincial capital was at risk of falling to the insurgents. The Taliban confirmed the attacks, saying their fighters had captured three checkpoints and killed or wounded 50 members of the security forces.

Afghanistan’s largest militant group made significant territorial gains in 2018, including overrunning Ghazni city, a few hours’ drive from Kabul, which they held for several days before being pushed back with help of US airpower.

At the time, officials said Ghazni remained in government hands. But residents told AFP that the insurgents were in the streets, burning buildings and targeting civilians. The Taliban’s increased aggression on the battlefield coincided with a flurry of diplomatic efforts aimed at bringing the group to the negotiating table.

In recent days, Taliban representatives have met with Iran, as Tehran makes a more concerted and open push for peace ahead of a possible US drawdown.

The Taliban delegation discussed with Iran “the post-occupation situation, restoration of peace and security in Afghanistan and the region”, the militants said in a statement posted on social media and emailed to journalists on Tuesday.

It signals a growing confidence among the Taliban that US troops will pull out of Afghanistan, after US officials last month told various media outlets that President Donald Trump had decided to slash the number of boots on the ground.</s>The Taliban militants have killed at least 21 Afghan security forces and wounded nearly two dozen others in a number of simultaneous attacks in the country’s north.

Local officials said on Tuesday that the casualties took place when the militants carried out attacks on security outposts in Sayad district of the northern province of Sar-e Pul.

Zabihullah Amani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said at least 21 local forces, including police and intelligence, were killed and another 23 wounded in the raids, which he said were aimed at seizing control of several oil wells on the outskirts of the provincial capital city of Sar-e Pul.

Amani also said hundreds of militants were still outside Sar-e-Pul, warning that the city was at risk of falling to the Taliban if reinforcements were not sent.

"The enemy is still amassing forces outside the city," he told AFP. "We have deployed all the forces available in the city, but no reinforcements have arrived from outside so far. The people inside the city are very worried. They have attacked the city many times in the past, but this time the threat is more serious.”

The Taliban confirmed the attacks on the northern Afghan province, claiming that they had captured three checkpoints and killed or wounded 50 members of the security forces.

The Taliban militants have in recent months stepped up attacks on security forces across Afghanistan, killing a large number of police forces as well as civilians.

This comes as representatives from the Taliban, the US, and regional countries met for the fourth time earlier in December in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi for talks to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan. The militant group’s representatives, however, refused to talk to the Afghan negotiating team.

Taliban leaders also announced on Sunday that the group’s representatives would meet US officials in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah for the fifth round of talks in January but not the representatives of the Afghan government.

President Ashraf Ghani has said the talks should be “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned,” insisting on continued efforts to establish a direct line of diplomatic communication with the Taliban.

The Taliban’s five-year rule over at least three quarters of Afghanistan came to an end with a US-led invasion in 2001; but 17 years on, the militant group continues to be active on much of Afghan soil. The Taliban have strengthened their grip over the past three years, with the government in Kabul controlling just 56 percent of the country, down from 72 percent in 2015, a recent US government report showed.

Having failed to end the militancy campaign, Washington has over the past months stepped up its political efforts to secure a truce with Taliban.

The Taliban and the Afghan government have previously said the presence of foreign troops is the biggest obstacle to peace in Afghanistan.

Taliban militants have warned of stepping up their attacks until the US forces fully withdraw from Afghanistan.

US President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the withdrawal of some 7,000 troops from Afghanistan. The figure accounts for about half of the total number of American boots on the ground in the country.

But a later White House announcement has cast doubt on reports about Trump’s order.

The Taliban have not formally responded to the partial US troop withdrawal. But a senior commander recently told media outlets that the group was “more than happy.”

In a report published on Tuesday, diplomats from Afghanistan’s neighbors told Reuters that there were fears a US troop pullout could trigger hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee into their countries.

“At this point, there is no clarity about the withdrawal, but we have to keep a clear action plan ready,” a senior Asian diplomat based in Kabul told Reuters. “The situation can turn from bad to worse very quickly.”

Afghanistan shares a border with Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China, and is the world’s second-biggest source of refugees, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Diplomats from the countries told Reuters they would increase border preparations in anticipation of refugees.

This article has been adapted from its original source.</s>The Taliban has killed more than 20 pro-government forces and captured several security outposts in northern Afghanistan.

 

 The insurgents staged the deadly offensive to try to take control of oil fields in Sayyad district in Sar-e-Pol province, a local government spokesman told VOA Tuesday.

 

 Zabihullah Amani said that Afghan security forces, including police and intelligence operatives, deployed to the facility on the outskirts of the provincial capital, also called Sar-e-Pol, repulsed Monday night's attack by the Taliban.

Amani added that at least 23 Afghan forces were also wounded in several hours of fierce clashes. Senior police commanders and officers of the intelligence agency were said to be among the dead.

A Taliban spokesman claimed government forces lost more than 50 personnel and insurgents overran three security posts in the area. It was not immediately possible to independently verify the claims made by either side and insurgent battlefield details are often inflated.

 

 Insurgents also attacked the Chimtal district in the province late Monday where Afghan officials said fierce battles raged into the next day, but gave not details of casualties. 

 

 The Taliban has inflicted heavy casualties on embattled Afghan military and police forces during 2018 and captured more territory in the process.

 

 An insurgent report issued Monday claimed that the Taliban has brought 61 out of Afghanistan's 407 districts under its control in the previous year. The Afghan government has not offered any reaction to the militant claims

The United States has recently stepped up diplomatic efforts to seek a political resolution to the Afghan war and held several rounds of talks with Taliban representatives in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

 

 Officials say the interaction is meant to persuade the Taliban to join a peace process with the Afghan government. But the insurgent group refuses to hold any intra-Afghan dialogue until the U.S. agrees on a date or timeline for pulling out all foreign forces from Afghanistan.</s>The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan special forces launched a new offensive against the Islamic State group in eastern Nangarhar province, killing 27 militants, officials said Tuesday. Meanwhile, Taliban attacks in northern Afghanistan killed 15 members of the country’s security forces.

According to provincial council member Ajmal Omar, the special forces, backed by helicopter gunships, targeted IS in Achin district of Nangarhar on Monday. The province has been an IS stronghold and the site where the militant group’s regional branch first emerged a few years ago.

The militants’ media arm, the Aamaq news agency, claimed IS repulsed a joint Afghan-U.S. operation in the area.

Omar, who could not confirm whether U.S. troops took part in the operation, said two local IS leaders, Sediq Yar and Syed Omar, were among those killed. The remoteness of the area makes it impossible to independently investigate conflicting reports.

In the north, the Taliban launched two blistering attacks on police outposts in Sar-e-Pul province on Monday night, killing 15 policemen and wounding 21, the latest in near-daily assaults by the insurgents against Afghanistan’s beleaguered security forces.

Fierce gunbattles raged for several hours in Sayyad district and outside Sar-e-Pul, the provincial capital. In the attack on the outskirts of the city, heavy artillery fire by Afghan forces trying to repel the Taliban sent local residents fleeing for safety, said provincial council chief Mohammad Noor Rahmani.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousof Ahmadi claimed responsibility for both attacks in Sar-e-Pul province.

The Taliban have been carrying out near-daily attacks targeting Afghan forces despite stepped-up efforts by the United States to find a negotiated end to the country’s 17-year war.

The size and strength of the IS affiliate in Afghanistan, which emerged in 2013, is estimated at anywhere between several hundred and several thousand fighters. The group comprises mostly of disgruntled Taliban fighters and Uzbek militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, as well as Pakistani militants who were driven out of Pakistan’s tribal region along the border with Afghanistan.

The relentless violence and deteriorating security battering Afghanistan comes as President Donald Trump is expected to order the withdrawal in the summer of 7,000 U.S. soldiers.

There are currently about 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, mostly carrying out training and assisting the Afghan forces who took over the defense of their country in 2014. There are also 7,100 soldiers from other NATO and partnering countries still stationed in Afghanistan.

Associated Press writers Maamoun Youssef in Cairo and Kathy Gannon in Islamabad contributed to this report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan official says the Taliban launched two blistering attacks in northern Sar-e-Pul province, killing 15 members of the country’s security forces. In one attack, on the outskirts of the provincial…

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan official says the Taliban launched two blistering attacks in northern Sar-e-Pul province, killing 15 members of the country’s security forces.

In one attack, on the outskirts of the provincial capital, heavy artillery fire by Afghan forces trying to repel the insurgents sent local residents fleeing for safety.

Provincial council chief Mohammad Noor Rahmani says that along with 15 policemen killed, 21 were wounded in the two attacks, which took place late on Monday. He says fierce gunbattles raged for several hours in Sayyad district and outside Sar-e-Pul, the provincial capital.

The Taliban have been carrying out near-daily attacks targeting Afghan forces despite stepped-up efforts by the United States to find a negotiated end to the country’s 17-year war.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>KABUL: As many as fifteen Afghan policemen were killed in two different attacks carried out by Taliban in northern Sar-e-Pul province of Afghanistan.

An Afghan official told International news outlet, that Taliban launched two attacks, killing 15 members of Afghan police force.

In one attack, on the outskirts of the provincial capital, heavy artillery fire by Afghan forces trying to repel the insurgents sent local residents fleeing for safety.

Provincial council chief Mohammad Noor Rahmani said that along with 15 policemen killed, 21 were wounded in the two attacks, which took place late on Monday.

He said fierce gunbattles raged for several hours in Sayyad district and outside Sar-e-Pul, the provincial capital.

The Taliban have been carrying out near-daily attacks targeting Afghan forces despite stepped-up efforts by the United States to find a negotiated end to the country’s 17-year war.
The Taliban kills 27 members of the Afghan National Security Forces in a series of coordinated attacks in northern Afghanistan after refusing to discuss peace in the region with government officials.