Taliban-led attacks kill 14 people in Afghanistan

Four policemen and 10 pro-government militiamen were killed in two separate Taliban-led attacks in northern Afghanistan, a local independent monitoring group said on Friday.
In Kunduz province, four policemen, including a police officer, were killed and five others captured in a Taliban attack on a security checkpoint in Tapa-e-Nasiri, an area in Police District 4 in the provincial capital Kunduz city, the group, Reduction in Violence (RiV) said on social media.

In the neighbouring Badakhshan province, 10 Public Uprising Forces, including two of the group divisional commanders, were killed when Taliban militants stormed their position in Yaftal district, Xinhua news agency quoted the RiV as saying.

The Public Uprising Forces, who are receiving support from Afghan security agencies, provide security and protect remote villages and districts around the country where the army and police have limited presence.

The northern Afghan provinces have been the scene of heavy clashes and battles in recent weeks as Taliban militants continue fighting against government forces and captured dozens of suburban districts, mostly in the northern region.

The fall of districts to the Taliban militants has sparked waves of criticism among locals, prompting thousands of people to take up arms and vow to fight alongside the security forces. - IANS