At least 11 Afghan police officers were killed on Sunday when Taliban fighters assaulted their checkpoints in volatile Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, authorities said.

The assaults on two police post are the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Afghan security forces claimed by the Taliban.

Taliban insurgents launched the attacks in the early morning in the Qalai Sang area of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.

“Our police fought them back, but unfortunately 11 of our police were martyred and two wounded,” provincial governor Hayatullah Hayat told AFP, adding that the militants fled after the attack.

Provincial police chief Ghafar Safi said 15 Taliban fighters were also killed during the skirmish.

After 16 years of war the resurgent militants show no signs of fatigue, ramping up their campaign against beleaguered government forces, underscoring rising insecurity in the war-torn country.

Afghan police and troops — beset by a high death toll, desertions and non-existent “ghost soldiers” on the payroll — have been struggling to beat back the insurgents since US-led Nato troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Also on Sunday, a suicide car bomb attack targeting Nato forces in neighbouring Kandahar province killed at least one woman and wounded four other Afghan civilians, General Abdul Razeq, the provincial police chief, told AFP.

A Nato spokesman in Kabul told AFP they were still checking reports concerning the attack.

Opinion

Editorial

Afghan turbulence
19 Mar, 2024

Afghan turbulence

RELATIONS between the newly formed government and Afghanistan’s de facto Taliban rulers have begun on an...
In disarray
19 Mar, 2024

In disarray

IT is clear that there is some bad blood within the PTI’s ranks. Ever since the PTI lost a key battle over ...
Festering wound
19 Mar, 2024

Festering wound

PROTESTS unfolded once more in Gwadar, this time against the alleged enforced disappearances of two young men, who...
Defining extremism
Updated 18 Mar, 2024

Defining extremism

Redefining extremism may well be the first step to clamping down on advocacy for Palestine.
Climate in focus
18 Mar, 2024

Climate in focus

IN a welcome order by the Supreme Court, the new government has been tasked with providing a report on actions taken...
Growing rabies concern
18 Mar, 2024

Growing rabies concern

DOG-BITE is an old problem in Pakistan. Amid a surfeit of public health challenges, rabies now seems poised to ...