KABUL—A wave of violence swept Afghanistan Tuesday with Taliban insurgents killing Afghan soldiers in the northwest of the country as the Canadian Embassy warned Canadians to leave for their own safety.

Insurgents have stepped up attacks on the Afghan capital in recent weeks, specifically targeting foreigners. Since last Thursday, four foreigners, including a British Embassy employee, have been killed in attacks claimed by the Taliban.

“If you are already in Afghanistan, you should leave,” an advisory on the Canadian government’s website states. “The Embassy of Canada in Afghanistan’s ability to provide consular and other support throughout the country is very limited.”

There are 208 Canadians registered as living in Afghanistan with the government’s Registration of Canadians Abroad Service, a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs and International Trade office said.

Since registration is voluntary, this number could be higher.

The message advises Canadians against all travel to Afghanistan “due to the unstable security situation, ongoing insurgency, terrorist attacks, the risk of kidnapping and a high crime rate. If you choose to travel to Afghanistan despite this warning, you are taking a serious risk.”

The U.S. Embassy said a van disguised as a Red Cross ambulance was “allegedly planning to conduct a (car bomb) attack against Western convoys or facilities in the Wazir Akbar Khan” diplomatic area.

A guest house occupied by a U.S. contractor, Aecomm, was attacked in the neighbourhood on Thursday, hours after a suicide attack on a British Embassy vehicle killed one British security guard and an Afghan driver.

Afghan officials expect December to be a tense month, as President Ashraf Ghani consolidates relationships with Washington and NATO after signing bilateral security agreements allowing an enduring military presence after the combat mission formally ends on Dec. 31.

The Canadian Embassy warned citizens that the “threat to foreigners, including Canadians, from terrorist and criminal violence is extremely high.”

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“If you are already in Afghanistan, you should leave,” the advisory said, adding anyone travelling in Afghanistan “is taking a serious risk.”

Six Afghan soldiers were killed in the northwestern province of Badghis after insurgents launched several attacks on guard posts.

Gen. Douod Shah Wafa, provincial commander of the Afghan National Army, says Taliban used machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades to attack the posts in Bala Murghab district early Tuesday. He said three insurgents were killed.

In eastern Afghanistan, an American drone killed five insurgents in Shirzad district in Nangahar province, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the provincial governor’s spokesman.

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