Afghan policemen killed in Taliban attacks on checkpoints

KABUL: 15 policemen were killed when Taliban fighters attacked an outpost in northern Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday.

Sources said that fighting raged across the country despite ongoing talks between Washington and the militant group.

According to the details, Eight soldiers and at least four policemen were injured in the overnight assault while three others were taken captive by Taliban fighters, provincial councilor Safiullah Amiri and Aminullah Aydin told dpa news agency.

The district governor Saduddin Sayyed said that The fighters launched the attack from several directions on security checkpoints in the Dasht-e Archi district of Kunduz on Tuesday around midnight. The clashes continued through early Wednesday morning.

According to the sources of Aljazeera, The attack came a day after at least 11 police officers were killed and six others wounded in an attack carried out by the armed group in the capital of Baghlan province.

A cease-fire had been demanded by Washington before any peace agreement could be signed. A peace deal would allow the U.S. to bring home its troops from Afghanistan and end its 18-year military engagement there, America’s longest.

US jet crashes in Taliban territory in Afghanistan

Earlier on January 27, The US military has confirmed one of its planes crashed in Taliban-held territory in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, south of the capital.

According to the Afghan official, two pilots were found dead amid the wreckage.

Officials told the media there were no indications it had been brought down by enemy activity.

The official further said the cause of the crash was still being investigated and he would not discuss the fate of the crew.

The aircraft crashed in Deh Yak district, Ghazni province, an area with a strong Taliban presence.