Nearly 20 security forces died in Afghanistan as a result of an attack by militants of the radical Taliban movement, the Afghan Ministry of Defense and local media reported.
According to the military, one of the attacks occurred in the province of Zabul in the south of the country. On Monday night, militants attacked an army checkpoint and killed six soldiers. In the ensuing shootout, several attackers were eliminated.
1 TV Channel, citing local authorities, reports the deaths of 13 police officers in the northwestern province of Tahar. They were victims of the Taliban attack, also committed on Monday night. Another six law enforcement officers were injured.
The confrontation between government forces and militants of the Taliban radical movement in Afghanistan continues, despite efforts to launch the peace process. At the end of February, at a ceremony in Qatar, the United States and the Taliban signed the first peace agreement in more than 18 years of war, which provides for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan in 14 months and the start of an inter-Afghan dialogue in March after a prisoner exchange deal.