KUNDUZ: At least nine Afghan security personnel were killed when Taliban militants attacked two police checkpoints overnight in a restive northern province, officials said on Friday.

The militants launched simultaneous raids on the checkpoints in Kunduz, a region bordering Tajikistan that has seen regular clashes between the insurgents and government forces.

The fighting left nine Afghan security personnel dead, Kunduz governor Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said.

Kunduz provincial council member Khaluddin Hakimi said 10 security personnel were killed while 10 others were wounded. The Taliban did not offer any immediate comment.

In a separate incident on Friday, the Taliban used a drone to drop a bomb on an Afghan military base in Kunduz city, army spokesman Abdul Hadi Nazari said, adding that there were no casualties.

However, the bomb did damage a military helicopter, another Afghan source said on condition of anonymity.

The Taliban have deployed small drones to drop bombs on government forces in other recent attacks.

Afghan security officials say the insurgents have largely used hobby drones rigged with explosives.

In late October, they reportedly used a drone to bomb the compound of the governor of Kunduz province.

The Taliban have regularly attacked security forces in the province, often attempting to enter Kunduz city, which has briefly fallen twice to the militants in recent years.

In recent months, violence has surged across several provinces of Afghanistan, even as the Taliban and government engage in peace talks to end the war.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2021