Taliban Storm Afghan Checkpoints Near Pakistan Border, Killing at Least 20 Troops

With large Taliban offensives ongoing across northern Afghanistan, the insurgent group took a rare opportunity to launch raids in the southern Kandahar Province, near the Pakistan border, where they targeted army checkpoints.

The army checkpoints across Shorabak District, which the Taliban has generally controlled anyhow, were quickly overrun, with at least 20 Afghan troops killed and eight others wounded in the attacks.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi took credit for the attack, saying that the group has seized large quantities of weapons and ammunition from the checkpoints after taking them over. This is common in such pushes, to the point that the Taliban seems to sometimes attack regions just to get equipment.

The Kandahar Province office confirmed thee attack but declined to provide specific numbers on casualties. There were no indication of any casualties on the Taliban’s side, though some Taliban were reported killed in fighting in the north.