Insider attack kills 24 Afghan forces

At least two dozen Afghan security forces were killed yesterday in an insider attack on their base in southern Afghanistan, officials told AFP, as fighting raged in the war-weary country while efforts to start talks with the Taliban stalled.

The pre-dawn attack saw several "infiltrators" open fire on their comrades as they slept, according to provincial governor Rahmatullah Yarmal, in one of the deadliest attacks since the US signed a withdrawal deal with the Taliban last month.

The raid targeted a joint police and army headquarters near Qalat, the provincial capital. Four other Afghan service members were missing.