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At Least 13 Afghan Troops Killed In Taliban Attacks


Afghan soldiers at the site of a bomb explosion in Shindand district of western Herat province on April 10.
Afghan soldiers at the site of a bomb explosion in Shindand district of western Herat province on April 10.

At least 13 Afghan security forces have been killed in suspected Taliban attacks in western Herat Province, officials say.

Ten police were killed and four wounded in the Shindad district, where fighting with the militants lasted for hours, Shukrullah Shaker, the district governor, said on April 13.

An unspecified number of militants were also killed, according to Shaker.

He blamed the Taliban for the attack, although no militant group has so far claimed responsibility.

Also overnight, suspected Taliban militants attacked several police posts in eastern Paktia Province, leaving at least three police dead, according to 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.

The violence comes a day after the UN said more than 700 civilians had been killed and nearly 1,500 wounded in Afghanistan in the first three months of 2018.

"Afghan civilians continue to suffer, caught in the conflict, in ways that are preventable; this must stop now," said Ingrid Hayden, the UN secretary-general's deputy special representative for Afghanistan.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters

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