Taliban fighters overran checkpoints in a nighttime raid in Afghanistan’s volatile southern Helmand province, killing at least 20 police officers as the battle raged into Saturday, an official said.
The attacks, which began late Friday night, hit police checkpoints in the Musa Qala district, long a Taliban stronghold, said Mohammad Ismail Hotak, the head of the province’s joint coordination of police and military operations. The attacks wounded at least 10 officers, he said, though the Taliban also seemed to have suffered high casualties.
The battle was ongoing Saturday and reinforcements had been sent from other districts, Hotak said.
Most of the checkpoints that had been attacked were small, just two or three men, he said, though the insurgents had also targeted larger facilities.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks. The militants have been targeting vulnerable police checkpoints across the country since launching their summer offensive in April.
Last month, a Taliban attack in Helmand’s Naw Zad district killed at least 19 police officers.
Both the police and the army have been planning to move men into larger reinforced checkpoints of up to 15 men as the small checkpoints have become a major target for insurgents.
Afghan forces are fighting alone this year as the U.S. and NATO have ended their combat mission. With little backup, Afghan casualties are soaring. Between Jan. 1 and May 7, 2,322 army, police and local police personnel were killed, 53 percent more than the same period in 2014, according to NATO.
By comparison, a total of 2,217 American service members were killed from the invasion in 2001 to topple the Taliban to last year
The attacks, which began late Friday night, hit police checkpoints in the Musa Qala district, long a Taliban stronghold, said Mohammad Ismail Hotak, the head of the province’s joint coordination of police and military operations. The attacks wounded at least 10 officers, he said, though the Taliban also seemed to have suffered high casualties.
The battle was ongoing Saturday and reinforcements had been sent from other districts, Hotak said.
Most of the checkpoints that had been attacked were small, just two or three men, he said, though the insurgents had also targeted larger facilities.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks. The militants have been targeting vulnerable police checkpoints across the country since launching their summer offensive in April.
Last month, a Taliban attack in Helmand’s Naw Zad district killed at least 19 police officers.
Both the police and the army have been planning to move men into larger reinforced checkpoints of up to 15 men as the small checkpoints have become a major target for insurgents.
Afghan forces are fighting alone this year as the U.S. and NATO have ended their combat mission. With little backup, Afghan casualties are soaring. Between Jan. 1 and May 7, 2,322 army, police and local police personnel were killed, 53 percent more than the same period in 2014, according to NATO.
By comparison, a total of 2,217 American service members were killed from the invasion in 2001 to topple the Taliban to last year
Source: New Age
