At least 46 people have been killed in heavy clashes at Kandahar airport in Afghanistan near a complex which houses a joint Afghan-Nato base.
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In all, 38 civilians, 10 soldiers and two police officers were killed in the fighting, while 37 security forces and civilians were wounded.
Afghan forces have struggled to roll back the Taliban advances since the US and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation formally concluded their combat mission at the end of previous year.
He said: ‘Since last two days of intense battle, between rival Taliban commanders in Shindand district, there are reports of more than 100 Taliban fighters being killed from both sides’.
Witnesses reported that some of the militants took families hostage and used them as human shields.
Taliban fighters carrying machine guns had targeted foreign forces, a Taliban spokesman said in a statement.
The Taliban militants group claimed responsbility behind the attack.
The Taliban also released a photo of what it says are the 10 men in military uniforms it sent to attack the Kandahar airport.
His message made specific mention of the Taliban’s almost 26-hour siege on residential buildings near Kandahar Airfield, in southern Afghanistan, which ended Wednesday and resulted in the deaths of dozens of people.
But that claim was discounted by Afghan officials who noted that the Taliban usually exaggerates the casualty tolls of Afghan and foreign troops.
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military personnel, civilian contractors and Afghan forces are based there.
However, some are blaming him for recent escalation in Taliban attacks in the country, including the brief seizure of northern city of Kunduz in September.
Kandahar Airfield, located about 30 kilometers south of Kandahar city, has been the staging ground and logistical supply center for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Afghan military operations across southern Afghanistan since late 2001.
At least 35 people were injured in the attack, the Ministry of Defence said.
Afghan security forces at the entrance of Kandahar Airport on Wednesday. Afghan officials frequently blame Pakistan for unrest. While the militants reportedly fired toward the base, Col. Michael Lawhorn, spokesman for the global military coalition in Afghanistan, said no American or coalition troops were injured or killed in the attack.
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Meanwhile the Taliban seized a district in neighbouring Helmand province, killing 14 Afghan security personnel.
