Taliban Kill at Least 15 Police in Northern Afghanistan Offensive

Taliban forces attacked checkpoint manned by border police

Taliban offensives against targets across Afghanistan continue to grow, with the latest fighting in Kunduz Province, along Afghanistan’s northern border. Here, Taliban forces attacked a checkpoint manned by border police.

The attack, in Qala-e Zal District, has killed at least 15 members of the border police, and wounded another 13. One Kunduz MP confirmed the toll.There is as yet no word on Taliban casualties in the fighting.

Taliban pushes against checkpoints in recent months have gone extremely poorly for the Afghan government, as security forces have tended to struggle mightily if they don’t have reinforcements successfully called in.

Further to the southeast, in Ghazni and Paktika Province, IED explosions have caused substantial civilian casualties. Exact figures have not been made public yet, but officials say that nine children were among the casualties, at least one of them killed.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.