Taliban insurgents, some sporting night-vision goggles, killed 22 Afghan policemen in separate assaults on checkpoints over the weekend within the newest blow to the nation’s beleaguered safety forces.
Militants sporting the goggles launched a pre-dawn assault on a police put up in Khan Abad district within the northern province of Kunduz on Sunday and killed 13 officers, mentioned provincial police chief Abdul Hamid Hamidi.
Just one policeman survived the assault, he advised reporters.
The attackers destroyed the checkpoint and stole a Humvee, in keeping with district governor Hayatullah Amiri.
On Saturday Taliban fighters killed 9 policemen and wounded two others stationed at checkpoints in Ghazni, the capital of the southeastern province of the identical identify, mentioned provincial governor’s spokesman Mohammad Arif Noori.
Twelve of the militants have been killed and 4 wounded, Noori mentioned.
The Taliban claimed the assaults in statements to media.
The insurgents have stepped up assaults on safety installations as they search to demoralise police and troops and steal tools to gasoline the insurgency.
The militants have acquired “dozens” of armoured Humvees and pickup vans lately, defence ministry deputy spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh advised AFP lately.
A few of these autos have been utilized in suicide assaults on police and navy bases with devastating impact.
Afghan forces have suffered hovering casualties since Nato forces ended their fight mission in late 2014.