Taliban insurgents attacked an army outpost in Afghanistan's southwestern Farah province killing at least seven soldiers, local officials said on Monday, as the country braces for violence after May 1, a previously agreed deadline for foreign troop withdrawal.
In a video message to media, Farah Governor Taj Mohammad Jahid said the Taliban had blown up an army outpost after digging a 400-metre (0.25 miles) tunnel to access it from a nearby house. He added that one soldier had also been captured by the insurgents.
Two local officials, one speaking on condition of anonymity, said dozens of military including elite commando forces had been killed. Provincial council member Khayer Mohammad Noorzai said that around 30 had died in the attack and that the base was in the hands of the Taliban.
A Taliban spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Officials said a blast in the province's capital on Monday had wounded 21 people, including five children. Farah Public Health Director Abdul Jabar Shayeq said three of the injured were in hospital in critical condition.
Afghanistan's capital was placed on high alert over the weekend and security in urban centres ramped up while the head of foreign forces in Afghanistan warned insurgents against attacking foreign troops as they withdraw from the country over the coming months.
Under a February 2020 deal between former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and the Taliban, foreign forces were to withdraw from the country by May 1 while the hardline Islamist group held off on attacking foreign troops and bases.
But U.S. President Joe Biden announced last month after reviewing the situation that U.S. forces would instead complete their withdrawal by Sept. 11, more than four months later than the previous plan.
Violence against Afghans has escalated in recent weeks, with more than a hundred Afghan security forces personnel killed. On Friday, a huge blast in eastern Logar killed dozens as they broke their fast during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
1.4 Million Afghan Girls Banned From Schools Since Taliban Return To Power Opinion: Opinion | Taliban, Three Years On: Still Searching for Manna Taliban Mark 3 Years In Power Since Afghanistan Takeover With Military Show Kolkata Rape-Murder: Fractures, 150 mg Semen, Other Claims Denied By Cops Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah To Be Prosecuted In Land Scam Case Life On Earth Originates From One Ancestor, Older Than Previously Believed Pak-Origin 26/11 Accused Tahawwur Rana Can Be Sent To India: US Court Mumbai University Invites Applications For Distance Learning Courses 17 Palestinians Killed In Israeli Strike On Gaza Amid Raging War Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.