MAZAR-I-SHARIF (AFGHANISTAN) - Taliban fighters killed nearly 60 members of Afghanistan's beleaguered security forces in a spate of attacks across the country's north, officials said Monday, as diplomatic efforts to end the 17-year war intensify. After seizing a military base in Sar-e-Pul, Taliban fighters were threatening the provincial capital in a situation that could result in "disaster" if reinforcements were not sent, the area's police chief Abdul Qayom Baqizoy warned. About 39 Taliban fighters have been killed and 14 wounded. Insurgents also raided two police checkpoints in Dara-e-Suf district of Samangan province, killing 14 officers, northern Afghanistan police spokesman Sarwar Hussaini said. The Taliban have long insisted on direct talks with Washington and refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, which they see as illegitimate.

Source: Bangkok Post September 10, 2018 17:37 UTC