Afghan official: Taliban attack police outpost, killing 4

Afghanistan flag (Photo By Various – This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this: National emblem of Afghanistan.svg., CC BY-SA 4.0)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — An Afghan official says the Taliban have attacked a security outpost in southern Kandahar province, the insurgents former heartland, killing 4 troops.

Provincial police chief’s spokesman, Zia Durrani, says the security forces repulsed the Taliban attack with the help of air support from the Afghan air force.

Durrani says the Friday morning attack also left seven policemen wounded.

He says the Taliban sustained heavy casualties. There was no immediate comment from the Taliban.

Elsewhere, provincial deputy police chief Nisar Ahmad Abdul Rahimzai says that Afghan security forces recaptured a district in eastern Paktia province from the insurgents.

The summer fighting season in Afghanistan has been brutal so far this year, with relentless Taliban attacks around the country as the insurgents battle to expand their footprint.