Taliban Attack Kills At Least 7 Soldiers In Western Afghanistan

KABUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2020) At least seven Afghan soldiers were killed and 10 other kidnapped in a Taliban attack on an army checkpoint in western Afghanistan, Sputnik has learned.

According to Shah Mahmood Naeemi, a member of the provincial council, the Afghan National Army post in the� Kansak area of Farah's Bala Baluk district was completely overrun by Taliban militant following overnight clashes.

"Seven Afghan National Army soldiers were killed and 10 others were abducted," Naeemi told Sputnik.

Local residents, however, told Sputnik that the army casualties were slightly higher, with some saying eight soldiers were killed and 12 abducted, and two Taliban militants died in retaliatory fire.

The Taliban also detonated bombs along a major regional highway, hampering transportation within the province, Naeemi said.

The Afghan National Army has yet to issue any statements on the matter.

Taliban violence continues unabated despite ongoing peace talks with the Afghan government in the Qatari capital of Doha. Daily reports emerge of insurgent attacks and booby-traps claiming scores of civilian and servicemen's lives in the war-torn country.

The intra-Afghan negotiations began on September 12, with both sides publicly expressing their desire to conclude a secure and long-lasting ceasefire to end Afghanistan's long-running conflict.