Taliban kill over 20 Afghan troops at Helmand army base

KABUL: Both the Afghan security forces and the Taliban outfit have intensified attacks against each other as scores have been reported killed in showdowns over the past two days in Afghanistan.Taliban militants, in an offensive against an army base in the southern Helmand province on Friday which lasted for several hours, killed more than 20 security personnel and injured over a dozen others, defence ministry has confirmed.However, a local official on the condition of anonymity, has disputed the number of casualties reported by the defence ministry, saying about 40 military personnel including garrison commander were killed and several others injured.A group of Taliban militants including three suicide bombers stormed the garrison in Shorab area of the poppy-growing Helmand province at 02:00 am local time on Friday, triggering fierce fighting which lasted until 07:00 pm local time the same day.Meanwhile, another official who declined to be identified said that sporadic fighting was continuing until Saturday afternoon.Zabihullah Mujahid, who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit in contact with media, has claimed that the militants' attack on Shorab base was continuing until Saturday and scores of Afghans and American service members were killed or injured.However, spokesman for Helmand's provincial governor Omar Zawak has rejected Taliban spokesman's claim, saying no foreigner was hurt.Meanwhile, the 205th Atal Corps in the southern region said in a statement on Saturday that 51 militants had been killed and dozens of others injured in the southern Kandahar, Zabul and Uruzgan provinces over the past 48 hours.Afghan observers believe that both the Taliban and government forces would continue to increase military activities amid ongoing peace talks between the Taliban outfit and the US delegation to have upper hand at possible direct talks between the Afghan government and Taliban delegation expected in coming months.

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