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| Taliban Ambush Afghan Security Forces, Killing 14 | |
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| KABUL, Afghanistan — A Taliban ambush in a relatively calm area of northern Afghanistan killed 14 members of the Afghan security forces, the latest example of a deadly campaign of violence that has taken a serious toll on soldiers and police officers across the country in recent months. | KABUL, Afghanistan — A Taliban ambush in a relatively calm area of northern Afghanistan killed 14 members of the Afghan security forces, the latest example of a deadly campaign of violence that has taken a serious toll on soldiers and police officers across the country in recent months. |
| The soldiers and policemen came under attack as they were rotating out after a two-month stint in a remote and mountainous area of Sar-i-Pul Province, an area that has seen an unusual increase in violence over the summer fighting months. The Taliban struck the convoy Sunday, igniting a long gunfight that wounded an additional 17 soldiers and policemen and resulted in the kidnapping of another six soldiers, according to the Abdul Jabar Haqbeen, the governor of Sar-i-Pul. | The soldiers and policemen came under attack as they were rotating out after a two-month stint in a remote and mountainous area of Sar-i-Pul Province, an area that has seen an unusual increase in violence over the summer fighting months. The Taliban struck the convoy Sunday, igniting a long gunfight that wounded an additional 17 soldiers and policemen and resulted in the kidnapping of another six soldiers, according to the Abdul Jabar Haqbeen, the governor of Sar-i-Pul. |
| The Taliban have waged heavy offensives this year, deeply cutting into Afghan security forces who for the first time have full responsibility for the country’s security. Many areas that had once been considered safe have been roiled, especially in the north. And in traditional areas of insurgent strength, mostly in the south and east, the Taliban have made many gains. | The Taliban have waged heavy offensives this year, deeply cutting into Afghan security forces who for the first time have full responsibility for the country’s security. Many areas that had once been considered safe have been roiled, especially in the north. And in traditional areas of insurgent strength, mostly in the south and east, the Taliban have made many gains. |
| Driving the insecurity in many areas is the lack of international forces, who have completely handed over security to their Afghan counterparts. For the first time in years, there are widespread reports of insurgents massing in large groups to attack, banking on the international coalition’s limited ability to conduct airstrikes. | Driving the insecurity in many areas is the lack of international forces, who have completely handed over security to their Afghan counterparts. For the first time in years, there are widespread reports of insurgents massing in large groups to attack, banking on the international coalition’s limited ability to conduct airstrikes. |
| In response, American forces have stepped up airstrikes, conducting more in August than they had over the past two years in total, according to the United States Central Command. | In response, American forces have stepped up airstrikes, conducting more in August than they had over the past two years in total, according to the United States Central Command. |
| Airstrikes have long been a source of tension and misunderstandings between American and Afghan officials. Even as security officials say the strikes are critical to the country’s security, a heavy civilian toll in coalition airstrikes over the years have enraged the public. | Airstrikes have long been a source of tension and misunderstandings between American and Afghan officials. Even as security officials say the strikes are critical to the country’s security, a heavy civilian toll in coalition airstrikes over the years have enraged the public. |
| In a new example, officials in the southeastern province of Paktia claimed that such strikes had killed seven civilians, including a child, who were collecting firewood on a mountaintop near the capital, Gardez. | In a new example, officials in the southeastern province of Paktia claimed that such strikes had killed seven civilians, including a child, who were collecting firewood on a mountaintop near the capital, Gardez. |
| The International Security Assistance Force rejected that account and released a statement saying that the airstrike “resulted in the death of eight armed enemy combatants.” | The International Security Assistance Force rejected that account and released a statement saying that the airstrike “resulted in the death of eight armed enemy combatants.” |
| In a statement, President Ashraf Ghani’s office said: “The president is looking at every civilian casualty incident with much importance, and has asked for a full investigation of this unfortunate incident. | In a statement, President Ashraf Ghani’s office said: “The president is looking at every civilian casualty incident with much importance, and has asked for a full investigation of this unfortunate incident. |
| Taliban violence has been especially heavy around the country in recent days. | Taliban violence has been especially heavy around the country in recent days. |
| In the highly secure city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the financial capital of northern Afghanistan, attackers dressed as policemen detonated suicide vests at the provincial police headquarters on Sunday, killing at least two officers and wounding nine others. And a mix of bombs, rockets and ambushes in the provinces of Wardak, Nangarhar, Kunduz, Kunar and Laghman, as well as in the capital city, Kabul, resulted in the deaths of at least 18 others in the last two days. | In the highly secure city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the financial capital of northern Afghanistan, attackers dressed as policemen detonated suicide vests at the provincial police headquarters on Sunday, killing at least two officers and wounding nine others. And a mix of bombs, rockets and ambushes in the provinces of Wardak, Nangarhar, Kunduz, Kunar and Laghman, as well as in the capital city, Kabul, resulted in the deaths of at least 18 others in the last two days. |
| Two separate attacks in Kabul occurred Wednesday morning. Around 6:45 a.m., a car packed with explosives rammed a passing convoy of Western contractors, killing one person and injuring at least three others, according to Hashmat Stanikzai, a spokesman for the Kabul police. In another incident, an attacker lobbed a grenade into a city market, wounding four people, Mr. Stanikzai said. | Two separate attacks in Kabul occurred Wednesday morning. Around 6:45 a.m., a car packed with explosives rammed a passing convoy of Western contractors, killing one person and injuring at least three others, according to Hashmat Stanikzai, a spokesman for the Kabul police. In another incident, an attacker lobbed a grenade into a city market, wounding four people, Mr. Stanikzai said. |
| In Nangarhar Province, a suicide attacker targeting Afghan soldiers killed two civilians and injured another in Ghanikel district Monday. Later in the day, traffic along the main highway running through the province, one of the most traveled stretches in the country, was temporarily halted as Afghan security forces engaged in a gun battle with insurgents near the Bati Kot district. | In Nangarhar Province, a suicide attacker targeting Afghan soldiers killed two civilians and injured another in Ghanikel district Monday. Later in the day, traffic along the main highway running through the province, one of the most traveled stretches in the country, was temporarily halted as Afghan security forces engaged in a gun battle with insurgents near the Bati Kot district. |
| And in the northern province of Kunduz, where an alarming uptick in violence this summer has unfolded, a magnetic bomb was slapped onto the side of a customs official’s vehicle traveling through the provincial capital, leaving at least three people, including the official, in critical condition, said the police spokesman there. | And in the northern province of Kunduz, where an alarming uptick in violence this summer has unfolded, a magnetic bomb was slapped onto the side of a customs official’s vehicle traveling through the provincial capital, leaving at least three people, including the official, in critical condition, said the police spokesman there. |