Still, Ghani was diplomatic, reportedly saying, “In Afghanistan, there is considerable uncertainty about whether Pakistan truly acknowledges Afghanistan as a sovereign Afghan state with its legitimate government and its legitimate constitution”.
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Dec 9 (Reuters) – Dozens of people were killed and wounded in fighting at the airport in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar after an overnight attack by Taliban insurgents that security forces had not entirely suppressed almost 24 hours later.
The brazen raid on the sprawling compound, which also houses a joint Nato-Afghan base, is the second major Taliban assault in as many days in the city recognised as the birthplace of the Taliban.
After years of costly involvement, most North Atlantic Treaty Organisation troops pulled back from the front lines by the end of 2014, although a residual force of around 13,000 remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.
He said at least 18 members of the security forces and civilians had been killed and 11 wounded, including two women. Militants are holding hostages in a home and at a school and officials say they managed to break through the first gate of the airport, according to BBC.
Local authorities have reportedly deployed commandos to the area. The commanders spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The insurgents are regularly known to exaggerate battlefield claims.
The siege took place as Taliban jihadists attempted to fight their way onto a military base adjacent to the airport.
“An Afghan Army officer at the airfield, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he had not been permitted to brief the press, said at least one family was still being held hostage, and he feared the casualties would rise further”, reports NYT.
The Taliban said “martyrdom seekers” entered the base undetected to start “thunderous attacks on foreign and hireling personnel”, killing up to 80 soldiers – an unverified claim.
Civilians in your community are reported to have told reporters the Taliban have refused to permit them to leave, despite ANA pleas to allow them to be permitted to go. Mansoor’s leadership was challenged among some followers, and a breakaway Taliban faction emerged, followed by clashes between the two groups.
The Taliban has seen a resurgence in recent months, opening new battlefronts across the country with Afghan forces struggling to rein in the expanding insurgency.
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The southern province of Kandahar, with the provincial capital of the same name, is a Taliban heartland. Continued fierce fighting between insurgents and Afghan troops prompted President Barack Obama to announce in October that he would extend the American military mission and keep troop levels much higher than originally planned in the coming year.
