14 Afghan soldiers and police killed in Taliban attack

At least 14 Afghan soldiers and police were killed during intense fighting with the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, officials said.

According to AFP, Taliban fighters launched an assault on several Afghan security force positions in the southern province of Uruzgan, inflicting a heavy toll that left Afghan troops vulnerable to being overrun.

The government-controlled district of Gizab also risked falling into insurgent hands, officials said.

“Intense fighting is ongoing. Our forces have retreated from several outposts,” Zelgai Ebadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP.

Officials said 14 Afghan security forces had been killed and more than a dozen more wounded.