Taliban Kills at Least 29 Afghan Security Forces in Northern Offensive

Attackers overran a pair of security checkpoints

Afghan Defense Ministry bragging over weekend casualties inflicted appears to have sparked the Taliban to retaliate, with hits against security checkpoints in Kunduz Province and neighboring Baghlan Province.

At least 29 security forces were killed in these attacks, with 15 soldiers slain at the Kunduz checkpoint, and 14 police killed in Baghlan, where a police post was outright overrun.

In addition to this, officials also reported fighting on Tuesday around the site of the downed US airplane in Ghazni. US forces reportedly were able to recover the bodies of the slain personnel and the data recorder.

The Taliban are keen to sack checkpoints and police stations at every opportunity, as they tend to overrun them with few casualties, and are able to loot substantial amounts of weapons and ammunition in the process. Nearly two decades of war and constant US arms shipments mean that both sides are largely using the same kit of weapons and ammunition, and these are the easiest way for the Taliban to resupply.

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.