A blistering overnight attack by the Taliban on an Afghan police outpost in western Farah province killed 30 policemen, Afghan officials said Thursday.

It was the latest in a series of brutal and near-daily Taliban assaults on the military and police forces, government and other installations throughout the country. The resurgent Taliban, who in recent years have taken over nearly half of Afghanistan, did not comment on the attack in Farah.

The attacks have been so relentless that authorities no longer regularly provide casualty figures, but unofficial estimates say that about 45 Afghan policemen or soldiers are killed or wounded on a daily basis.

According to provincial council member Dadullah Qani, the overnight onslaught on the outpost in Farah's district of Khaki Safed began late on Wednesday and continued for more than four hours.

In Kabul, lawmaker Samiullah Samim told The Associated Press that the Taliban killed all 30 policemen — members of both the national and local police force — who were deployed at the outpost, including the district police commander, Abdul Jabhar.

Retaliatory airstrikes killed 17 Taliban fighters but the insurgents still managed to get away with a large amount of weapons and ammunition, he said.

Meanwhile, fighting with the Taliban in two districts of central Ghazni province has displaced thousands of people in the past two weeks, most of them minority ethnic Hazaras, who are Shiites, said Mohammad Arif Rahmani, a lawmaker from Ghazni.

Also, about 100 Afghan policemen, local pro-government militiamen and soldiers have been killed in the bitter clashes there, Rahmani told the AP. Currently, Afghan security forces are battling insurgents in 22 of the country's 34 provinces, he added.

Afghanistan's protracted war has also become increasingly deadly for civilians. A United Nations report issued earlier this year said more civilians died in the first six months of 2018 than in any year since 2009, when the U.N. mission first began monitoring civilian casualties.

"Every day in the first six months of 2018, an average of nine civilians, including two children, were killed in the conflict in Afghanistan," said the independent Afghanistan Analysts Network in its own report.

Security forces at outposts throughout the country routinely face shortages of weapons, ammunition and even food supplies, said military analyst Javed Kohistani, blaming government mismanagement.

More senior and experienced generals have been replaced with younger officers whose inexperience is compromising the strength of the security forces.

There are fewer and fewer recruits and in some areas, a battalion which should have 400 to 600 troops barely has 100 to 200 soldiers, he said.

"Nobody is joining the army," he said.

Afghanistan's Defense Minister Gen. Tariq Shah Bahrami was grilled by lawmakers in parliament on Wednesday about Taliban onslaughts in Wardak and Ghazni provinces where entire districts are under siege.

Bahrami acknowledged the security forces have a "problem" and said that reinforcements have been sent.

___

Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon in Islamabad contributed to this report.</s>The Taliban killed 30 policemen in an overnight attack on an Afghan police outpost in western Farah province, officials said Thursday. The onslaught on the outpost in Farah’s district of Khaki Safed began late on Wednesday and continued for more than four hours, according to provincial council member Dadullah Qani. Lawmaker Samiullah Samim said in Kabul that the Taliban killed all 30 policemen – members of both the national and local police force – who were deployed at the outpost, including the district police commander, Abdul Jabhar, AP reports. Retaliatory airstrikes killed 17 Taliban fighters but the insurgents still managed to get away with a large amount of weapons and ammunition, he said.</s>Afghan government officials said on Thursday that the Taliban killed 30 policemen in an attack in Farah province late on Wednesday, AP reported. Provincial council member Dadullah Qani said the Taliban attacked the police outpost in the Khaki Safed district on Wednesday night, and the assault continued for four hours.

Lawmaker Samiullah Samim said in Kabul that Farah District Police Commander Abdul Jabhar was among those killed in the attack.

ToloNews reported that local officials in Farah province said the Taliban captured three checkposts in Shewan, Garani and Aab Khormay areas of Bala Blook district. Security forces also confirmed casualties, but did not assign a number.

Mohibullah, a spokesperson for Jabhar added that there were clashes in Peshtkoh district overnight, in which both Taliban militants and security force personnel were killed.

Meanwhile, at least nine Afghan Army soldiers and five Taliban militants were killed during clashes in Sayedabad district of Maidan Wardak province on Wednesday, Pajhwok Afghan News reported. Hekmat Durani, the spokesperson for the provincial governor, said that Taliban insurgents stormed a security post in Mangali area of the district and temporarily captured it, but were repelled.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan officials say the Taliban have killed 30 policemen in blistering overnight attack in western Farah province.</s>KABUL — A blistering overnight attack by the Taliban on an Afghan police outpost in western Farah province killed 30 policemen, Afghan officials said Thursday.

It was the latest in a series of brutal and near-daily Taliban assaults on the military and police forces, government and other installations throughout the country. The resurgent Taliban, who in recent years have taken over nearly half of Afghanistan, did not comment on the attack in Farah.

The attacks have been so relentless that authorities no longer regularly provide casualty figures, but unofficial estimates say that about 45 Afghan policemen or soldiers are killed or wounded on a daily basis.

According to provincial council member Dadullah Qani, the overnight onslaught on the outpost in Farah’s district of Khaki Safed began late on Wednesday and continued for more than four hours.

In Kabul, lawmaker Samiullah Samim said the Taliban killed all 30 policemen — members of both the national and local police force — who were deployed at the outpost, including the district police commander, Abdul Jabhar.

Retaliatory air strikes killed 17 Taliban fighters but the insurgents still managed to get away with a large amount of weapons and ammunition, he said.

Meanwhile, fighting with the Taliban in two districts of central Ghazni province has displaced thousands of people in the past two weeks, most of them minority ethnic Hazaras, who are Shiites, said Mohammad Arif Rahmani, a lawmaker from Ghazni.

Also, about 100 Afghan policemen, local pro-government militiamen and soldiers have been killed in the bitter clashes there, Rahmani said. Currently, Afghan security forces are battling insurgents in 22 of the country’s 34 provinces, he added.

Afghanistan’s protracted war also has become increasingly deadly for civilians. A U.N. report issued earlier this year said more civilians died in the first six months of 2018 than in any year since 2009, when the U.N. mission first began monitoring civilian casualties.

“Every day in the first six months of 2018, an average of nine civilians, including two children, were killed in the conflict in Afghanistan,” said the independent Afghanistan Analysts Network in its own report.

Amir Shah is an Associated Press writer.</s>Kabul: Afghan officials say the Taliban have killed 30 policemen in a blistering overnight attack in western Farah province.

Provincial council member Dadullah Qani said on Thursday that the onslaught on the police outpost in the province's district of Khaki Safed began late on Wednesday and continued for more than four hours.

In Kabul, lawmaker Samiullah Samim said the district police commander, Abdul Jabhar, was among those killed.

The Taliban managed to flee with a large amount of weapons and ammunition.

The Taliban have in recent months been staging near-daily attacks across Afghanistan, inflicting heavy casualties on Afghan forces.

Authorities no longer regularly provide casualty figures but unofficial estimates say about 45 Afghan police or soldiers are killed or wounded daily.</s>FARAH: The members of Farah provincial council on Thursday said up to 40 security force members were killed and 60 others surrendered to the Taliban during the recent spate of violence in three districts of the province.

The residents however painted a grim picture of the situation, saying the Taliban were still present in some parts of Farah city. Over the past two weeks, the Taliban and the Afghan security forces have been embroiled in deadly battles on multiple fronts across the province. On Wednesday, the Taliban launched attacks on Bala Buluk, Pusht-e-Koh and Pusht Rod districts. Over 30 Taliban members were also killed in the battles.</s>Taliban militants have launched widespread attacks over Farah City, Bala Buluk, Pusht-e-Koh, and Pusht Rod districts last night, killing dozens of Afghan security forces.

A security official who wished not to be named told Ariana News that more than 40 security forces were killed in Bala Buluk district and three security checkpoints also captured by the Taliban fighters.

Provincial Police Spokesman Muhibullah Muhib confirms that casualties have sustained to Afghan forces in Bala Buluk district, but says the number is less than being told.

He added that at least 37 Taliban militants were also killed by Afghan forces in Pusht-e-Koh and Pusht Rod districts.

According to Farah residents, Taliban have also attacked security checkpoints inside Farah city. Residents told Ariana News that the Taliban have a huge presence in Bagh-e-Pul area which is located inside the capital city of Farah province.

However, local security officials have confirmed the injury of two policemen inside Farah city.

Farah is among the volatile provinces in the west of Afghanistan where Taliban militants have a huge presence and usually carry out coordinated attacks against the government forces.</s>By The Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan officials say the latest Taliban attacks in the country’s central and eastern region have left 13 policemen dead.

Council member Ghulam Hussain Changiz in eastern Ghazni province says the insurgents attacked a police outpost early on Thursday morning in Khugyani district, killing eight policemen, including a district commander.

The attack set of a firefight that lasted for hours until the government sent reinforcements and drove Taliban from the compound. He says the Taliban still managed to confiscate weapons and ammunition.

The Taliban also attacked a police outpost in central Wardak province on Thursday morning, killing five policemen. Police spokesman Hekmat Durrani says three policemen were wounded.

Near-daily Taliban attacks on Afghan security forces have been relentless in recent months.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>FARAH: Up to 40 police personnel have been killed as Taliban militants stormed a police base in Afghanistan's western Farah province. An official, on the condition of anonymity, said the Taliban attacked a police base in Bala Blok district at 09:00 pm local time Wednesday, which lasted for several hours. The official also admitted that the militants attacked police checkpoints in Khak-e-Safid and Pushtrod districts on the same night, inflicting casualties to the police personnel.– Xinhua
Taliban kill 30 policemen in an attack on an outpost in Farah Province.