KABUL — Taliban fighters stormed army checkpoints in southern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border overnight, killing 20 troops, an official said Tuesday.

Eight other security forces were also wounded in Monday night’s attack in Shorabak district, Mohammad Yousof Younosi, a provincial council member in Kandahar, said.

An official from the provincial governor’s office, who was not authorized to speak with the media, confirmed the attack and said there were casualties among the Afghan forces but couldn’t provide figures.