Afghanistan Clashes Continue to Rage, Dozens More Killed

A flurry of Taliban attacks on Monday night into Tuesday show no sign of letting up, with fighting hitting more provinces and targeting security checkpoints into Wednesday, killing dozens more fighters on both sides.

The Taliban’s new attacks were chiefly in the north, hitting Sar-e Pul Province, and appear to have targeted checkpoints instead of larger targets. The Taliban often hits checkpoints as a way to loot weapons and ammunition from poorly-guarded military sites.

The biggest attack was in Logar Province, however, where the Taliban killed 19 police guarding a major copper mine. Afghan officials claimed 31 Taliban were killed in fighting further south, in Kandahar Province.

The Taliban’s own comments only covered the Sar-e Pul attacks, and not anything in Logar or Kandahar. This may represent different priorities in attacks, or that the attacks may have involved different Taliban factions.