Kabul, Afghanistan:
The Afghan air drive carried out a number of strikes on Taliban positions Saturday that killed greater than 30 rebel fighters, officers stated, as President Ashraf Ghani as soon as once more referred to as for a ceasefire.
The Taliban claimed the strike had killed practically two dozen civilians together with ladies and youngsters within the newest mass-casualty incident in Afghanistan that got here whilst peace talks had been underneath method in Qatar.
“This morning, Taliban fighters attacked (Afghan military) positions in … Khan Abad district in Kunduz province,” the Defence Ministry stated in an announcement on Twitter.
The army “intercepted the assault in accordance with ‘lively protection’ procedures,” the assertion added, noting that greater than 30 Taliban fighters together with two commanders had been killed.
In an announcement, the Taliban denied its fighters had been hit and stated 23 civilians had been killed.
The defence ministry stated it was conscious of the declare and would examine.
Native hospital director Mohammad Naeem Mangal informed AFP that three useless and three wounded civilians had been delivered to the ability.
The assault got here shortly earlier than Ghani as soon as once more referred to as for a humanitarian ceasefire “to guard our individuals, forestall violence and terrorist incidents and to attain a dignified and lasting peace.”
The insurgents have to date ignored such requests, although they’ve unilaterally referred to as two brief, separate truces this 12 months within the run-up to peace talks, which opened every week in the past in Doha.
Talks have progressed slowly to date, with the 2 sides nonetheless undecided about an agenda.
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