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Fifty people have been killed by the Taliban in an attack on an Afghan airport that lasted more than 24 hours.

Dozens of civilians including children were among the dead after 11 Taliban fighters mounted a fierce assault on Kandahar airport on Tuesday, which is home to a large Nato base.

The airport was under siege for over a day before fighting came to an end late on Wednesday, with the last Taliban attacker reportedly killed by Afghan forces at about 8pm.

The Afghan defence ministry said that the dead included 38 civilians, 10 Afghan soldiers and two police.

Afghan forces have struggled to roll back Taliban advances since the US and Nato formally concluded their combat mission at the end of last year.

The sprawling airport, known as Kandahar Air Field, has a military and a civilian section, as well as the Nato complex.

There were no coalition casualties.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.