At least seven soldiers and civilians, including the wife and daughter of a well-known Afghan writer, were killed in a series of security incidents, Afghan officials said on June 20.
At least three members of the Afghan National Army were killed in a clash with the Taliban in the southern Nahr-e Saraj area along the Helmand-Kandahar highway, according to the provincial governor's spokesman, Omar Zwak.
Two soldiers were also wounded in the clashes, Zwak said.
Fighting on the outskirts of Taloqan, the capital city of Takhar Province in the north, left one local police officer dead and another wounded, according to a provincial councillor, Azam Afzali.
There were also clashes in the province's Namak Ab district on Friday night, but an exact casualty figure is yet to be determined, he said.
Meanwhile, a magnetic bomb attached to the vehicle of a well-known Afghan writer and security expert, Asadullah Walawalji, exploded, killing his wife and daughter, according to Kabul police. Walwalji wasn't in the car at the time of the incident on Friday evening in the touristic Paghman Valley of the capital city, Kabul.
Afghan leaders, including President Ashraf Ghani, condemned the death of Walwalji's family members. The reason for the incident was not yet known.
In northern Faryab Province, the Taliban killed a village leader for refusing to pay the militants $130 as a ransom, councillor Mohammad Arif told dpa. The Taliban harshly punish people who refuse to pay them in areas under their control, according to the councilor.