At Least 13 Afghan Security Personnel Killed By Taliban Attack On Ghazni Checkpoint

Afghan officials say at least 13 members of Afghanistan’s security forces have been killed in a battle in Ghazni Province about 150 kilometers southwest of Kabul.

Mohammad Arif Noori, a spokesman for Ghazni’s provincial governor, told RFE/RL that the battle began early on November 5 when Taliban militants attacked a checkpoint in the Khogyani district near the provincial capital.

Noori said six Afghan police and seven soldiers in the Afghan National Army were killed in the fighting. He said at least four other police officers were wounded.

He said at least six Taliban fighters were killed and 10 wounded in the three-hour battle.

Noori said the checkpoint had been set up in a strategic area on November 3 in an attempt to cut off a supply route used by the Taliban.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed in a statement sent to media that the Taliban were responsible for the attack.

The fighting comes three months after hundreds of Taliban militants launched a major assault on Ghazni city and briefly took control of parts of the provincial capital.

U.S. warplanes, drones, and helicopters were deployed in that battle to help Afghan government forces repulse the earlier Taliban assault — which included fighting on the outskirts of the city in the Khogyani, Khwaja Omari, and Zanakhan areas.

With reporting by Reuters and AP