IS blast, Taliban attacks rattle Afghanistan
75 security forces killed in attacks on Farah checkposts; six killed in Kabul suicide blast
Afghan security forces suffered scores of casualties in heavy fighting, officials said yesterday, as Taliban militants step up battlefield pressure while seeking a political settlement with the United States.
About 50 security forces were killed in attacks late on Sunday by Taliban fighters on checkposts around the southwestern city of Farah and nearby districts that triggered hours of fighting, regional officials said.
At the same time, about 25 Afghan commandos were killed in the central province of Ghazni, where the Taliban have been battling militia from the mainly Shia Hazara community in the districts of Malistan and Jaghori, a conflict coloured by hostility between ethnic Hazaras and Pashtuns.
"Fresh troops have been sent to Malistan and Jaghori but the people are also cooperating and have stood up against the insurgents," Army General Chief of Staff, Mohammad Sharif Yaftali, told reporters.
Some commandos had been killed or wounded, he added, but gave no details, reported Reuters.
Meanwhile, six people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in Kabul yesterday, close to where scores of Afghans had been protesting against Taliban attacks on the minority Hazara ethnic group, reported AFP.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the blast. "A suicide attacker wearing an explosives belt hits a gathering of Shias near the presidential palace... in Kabul," Amaq said.