Asharq Al-Awsat

Eighteen members of the security forces were killed by the Taliban on Saturday in the western Farah province in Afghanistan.

Taliban fighters attacked troops assembled to prepare an attack in Bala Buluk district in the night, setting off a fierce battle, officials said.

Fared Bakhtawar, head of the provincial council, said that seven army commandos and eight police are among the dead.

He said three other security forces are missing and more than 30 insurgents were killed in the battle.

Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said four members of the special forces had been killed and a number wounded.

As the fighting went on, an air strike was called in and killed around 25 insurgents, he said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujhaid claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a message posted on Twitter, he said 53 commandos had been killed or wounded after arriving in Tapa Sadat, close to the Bala Buluk district center, and a sizable quantity of weapons seized.

In recent months, Farah province has witnessed an increase in attacks by insurgents against security forces and local officials have requested the deployment of more forces in the province.

Saturday’s attack came ahead of an expected increase in fighting with the end of winter and the approach of spring.

US and Afghan officials say the Taliban have been under increasingly heavy pressure from air strikes and army operations but the insurgents have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to inflict severe damage on Afghan security forces.