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Taliban militants kill 6 policemen in Afghanistan’s western province of Farah

Sunday, 19 November 2017 2:50 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 19 November 2017 3:17 PM ]

An Afghan security force stands guard at a checkpoint in Maiwand district of Kandahar province, on November 14, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

At least six policemen have been killed after the Taliban militants launched coordinated attacks on three checkpoints in Afghanistan’s western province of Farah, local officials say.

At least eight other police forces also sustained injuries in the gun battles, which occurred on Saturday night, said Mohammad Naser Mehri, a spokesman for the provincial governor, on Sunday.

He added that the fierce fighting also left at least eight militants dead and five others wounded.

Shortly after the ambush, the Taliban militant group claimed responsibility for the deadly raids.

Aqbal Baheer, Farah police spokesman, also confirmed the incident but did not specify the number of checkpoints that came under attack by Taliban militants.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, seven suspected Taliban militants were killed when they tried to plant a roadside bomb on a road, used by Afghan security forces, in the northern Kunduz province. According to Mahbobullah Sayedi, a district chief, the premature explosion also injured two other militants.

The Taliban have increased attacks on security forces and foreign troops over the past two years. Back in October, the group’s militants launched several attacks on a number of checkpoints and military bases across the war-ravaged country, leaving over 100 soldiers dead and dozens others injured.

The group, mostly based in the south and east of Afghanistan, has been behind many attacks in the north of the country in the recent past.

Afghanistan is engulfed by violence and many parts of the country remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of foreign troops. The United States and its NATO allies invaded and occupied the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror in 2001, which toppled a Taliban regime.

Over the past 16 years, the Taliban have been carrying out militancy across Afghanistan, killing and displacing government officials, security forces, and civilians.

The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group has also more recently gained a foothold in the crisis-hit country.

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