UPDATE - Afghan Security Forces Kill 28 Insurgents In Clashes In Kandahar Province - Spokesman

KABUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2020) As many as 28 insurgents have been killed after a security forces operation in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, a spokesman for the province's police chief said on Sunday.

The operation was launched in the Maiwand district of the province and left 28 insurgents dead and 30 others injured, the spokesman, Jamal Nasir Barakzai, said.

Additionally, 50 mines placed by insurgents in the region were defused, the spokesman said.

Later in the day, Barakzai also confirmed that six militants were killed in clashes after an attack was launched on security checkpoints in the Miyanishin district of Kandahar province.

"Last night Taliban insurgents attacked checkpoints number 7 and 8 in Miyanishin. Six insurgents were killed and seven others were injured," Barakzai told Sputnik.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, at least six insurgents were killed by an Afghan armed forces airstrike in Logar province, Shapoor Ahmadzai, a spokesman for the province's police chief, said.

"Afghan forces launched an airstrike on insurgents in Baraki Barak district and killed six militants," the spokesman said.

The strike targeted the base of Qari Shafiullah, an insurgent intelligence chief in Logar province, although it is not yet known if Shafiullah was harmed in the attack, Ahmadzai said.

Additionally, 14 insurgents, including four high-ranking Taliban officials, were killed in Samangan province overnight, a police spokesman told Sputnik.

"Last night, Taliban insurgents attacked security checkpoints in the Darah Sof Payen district. Fourteen Taliban insurgents were killed and 12 others were injured," Munir Rahimi told Sputnik, adding that two policemen were killed in the attack.

The Taliban has yet to comment on any of the aforementioned incidents.

At the same time, Taliban insurgents continue to step up their attacks on Afghan security forces in the northern districts of Kandahar, as well as the provinces of Uruzgan and Zabul. A Taliban raid in Kandahar province on Friday left seven policemen dead.

An uptick in violence has been observed in Afghanistan since the start of peace talks between the government and the Taliban on September 12.

Nader Naderi, a member of the government's negotiating team, told Sputnik on Saturday that the insurgent group is attempting to put pressure on the authorities in Kabul by stepping up attacks.