Taliban fighters (file photo)
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 14, 2016
Taliban militants have killed a police commander and seven other people, including three women, in Afghanistan.
Qahar Khurm Aabi, highway police commander in the northern provinces of Takhar and Kunduz, was killed on April 14 in a Taliban ambush along with four of his guards on his way to work, police said, adding that the three women killed were passersby.
There was no immediate comment from the Taliban.
On April 12, the Taliban said they had launched their spring offensive, dubbed Operation Omari, in honor of the late Taliban founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar.
The Taliban insurgency has gained strength since the withdrawal of international forces from combat at the end of 2014 and the Taliban is stronger than at any point since the militants were driven from power by U.S.-backed forces in 2001.
About 5,500 members of the Afghan security forces were killed last year and more than 14,000 were wounded.
Based on reporting by Reuters
Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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