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Afghan Taliban attack on Kandahar 'leaves 46 dead' | |
(35 minutes later) | |
At least 46 security personnel, Taliban fighters and civilians have been killed in clashes in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, officials say. | |
Several people were also taken hostage in the Taliban assault on Kandahar airport, which began on Tuesday. | |
The airport compound houses the joint Nato and Afghan military headquarters. | The airport compound houses the joint Nato and Afghan military headquarters. |
Officials said the attackers had managed to breach the first gate of the complex. Gunfire can still be heard, and all flights have been cancelled. | |
The Taliban said it carried out the attack at the heavily fortified site. | |
The Afghan defence ministry said 37 civilians and members of the security forces had been killed, along with nine Taliban. A further 35 people were injured, it said. | |
A doctor at a military hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the BBC 41 bodies had been received, including four soldiers. The hostages are believed to include women and small children. | |
Correspondents say the attack is a huge security failure because the attackers were able to smuggle weapons into an area supposed to have been made secure by the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). | Correspondents say the attack is a huge security failure because the attackers were able to smuggle weapons into an area supposed to have been made secure by the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). |
The Taliban said "martyrdom seekers" entered the airbase undetected to begin a "thunderous attacks on foreign and hireling personnel". | |
Kandahar army commander Sher Shah told reporters that radio intercepts had found that some militants were speaking in Urdu - a language more common in neighbouring Pakistan. Afghan officials frequently blame Pakistan for unrest. | |
A statement by the Taliban claimed that they had killed up to 80 soldiers. This figure could not be verified. | |
Kandahar airport director Ahmadullah Faizi told AFP news agency that some passengers waiting to board a commercial flight to India had been trapped inside the airport's civilian terminal, at some distance from the fighting, during the attack. | |
The incident comes as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani visits Pakistan for a regional conference attended by Pakistan, India and the US, where they are expected to discuss peace talks with the Taliban. | |
Militant violence has increased across Afghanistan since the departure of most Nato and US forces last year. | Militant violence has increased across Afghanistan since the departure of most Nato and US forces last year. |
In recent months the Taliban has seen a series of battlefield victories, including briefly capturing the northern city of Kunduz. |