HERAT: Taliban militants attacked Afghan security posts in the western province of Herat on Thursday, killing nine soldiers and one police officer, a district governor said on Friday.

The attack occurred in Herat’s Shindand district, said the district’s governor, Shukrullah Shaker. Four people were wounded, he said.

The Taliban, seeking to restore strict Islamic rule after their 2001 defeat by US-led troops, did not immediately comment.

The attack happened just days after a blast in Shindand killed at least six people, including four children.Fighting in Afghanistan traditionally increases in the spring when warmer weather melts snow blocking mountain passes, increasing the mobility of the insurgents.

Shukrullah said a roadside mine and a rocket hit a car carrying police reinforcements sent to the scene, killing the police commander.

There were also fatalities among the Taliban attackers, Shaker said, but it was not clear how many. He blamed the Taliban for the attack although no militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault.

Also overnight, the Taliban attacked several police posts in eastern Paktia province, in the provincial capital of Gardez, leaving at least three policemen dead, said Gul Agha Roohani, the province’s police chief.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in Paktia in a text message sent to the media.

On Thursday morning, the Taliban stormed a government compound in the central province of Ghazni, triggering an hours-long gunbattle that killed 15, including three top local officials.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2018

Editorial

US aggression
23 Jun, 2025

US aggression

BY striking Iran’s nuclear sites, America has initiated the process of a long and devastating war that will affect...
Finishing the job
23 Jun, 2025

Finishing the job

THE federal health minister’s assertion of a 99pc reduction in polio cases in Pakistan, while impressive on the...
Exam leaks
23 Jun, 2025

Exam leaks

FOR students who put in countless hours of hard work for their secondary school exams — mainly to secure admission...
‘Hybrid’ talk
22 Jun, 2025

‘Hybrid’ talk

IN the past, while most elected governments would at least publicly bristle at the mention of being partners in ...
Farcical nomination
Updated 22 Jun, 2025

Farcical nomination

Many citizens have expressed dismay and embarrassment over this symbolic capitulation to the US presidency.
Sunken dreams
22 Jun, 2025

Sunken dreams

THE heartrending fate of people escaping conflict, deprivation and instability across the globe is among the...