9 Afghan security personnel dead in Taliban ambush

Kabul, Sep 21 (IANS) Six Afghan soldiers and three police officers were killed and four others injured in a Taliban ambush in Takhar province, a government spokesman confirmed on Monday."Militants initially attacked a security checkpoint in Nawabad locality of Dasht-i-Qala district on Sundat midnight," the spokesman told Xinhua news agency. "They also laid an ambush against a responding security forces' motorcade, triggering clashes along a road that left the above casualties," he added.No other details were immediately available about clashes in the security checkpoint in the region, 245 km north of Kabul.Several militants were also killed and wounded during the fighting, according to the spokesman. The Taliban was yet to comment on the incident.Violence has lingered in the war-torn country even as peace talks between an Afghan government delegation and Taliban representatives are being held in Doha, capital of Gulf state of Qatar.More than 130 people have been killed and over 100 wounded across the country over the weekend.
--IANS ksk/