The Latest: Afghan officials: Taliban attack kills 30 troops
By Associated Press
Aug 15, 2018 2:03 AM CDT
In this Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, photo, Afghan security personnel patrol in the city of Ghazni province west of Kabul, Afghanistan. A Taliban assault on Ghazni, a key city linking areas of Taliban influence barely 75 miles from Kabul, has killed about 100 Afghan policemen and soldiers since Friday, the...   (Associated Press)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Latest on the war in Afghanistan (all times local):

11:15 a.m.

Afghan officials say a Taliban assault on two adjacent checkpoints in the northern Baghlan province has killed 30 soldiers and police.

Mohammad Safdar Mohseni, head of provincial council, says the insurgents set fire to the checkpoints after the attack late Tuesday in the Baghlan-I Markazi district. Dilawar Aymaq, a parliamentarian from Baghlan, confirmed the attack.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack.

The resurgent Taliban carry out near-daily attacks against Afghan security forces, who have struggled to combat the insurgency since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014.

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8:30 a.m.

An Afghan official says Taliban attacks have killed four police in southern Zabul province.

Provincial police chief Mustafa Mayar says the Taliban attacked security posts in the Zabul capital of Qalat early Wednesday, killing the four and wounding three other officers.

He says the gunbattle lasted several hours during which the Taliban used artillery and heavy guns. The attack also left seven rebels dead and five others wounded.

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