20 Afghan security personnel killed in Taliban attack

Kabul, Oct 23 (IANS) At least 20 Afghan security personnel were killed in a Taliban attack in Nimroz province, an official said on Friday.The attack took place in Khashrod district on Thursday night, TOLO News reported.Khashrod Governor Jalil Ahmad Watandost said six other peronnel were taken hostage by the Taliban, without giving any other details. The Afghan Defence Ministry is yet to officially comment on the incident. The latest atatck comes amidst a sharp increase in violence across the country despite ongoing peace negotiations in Doha.On Thursday, the Defence Ministry said that Taliban militants had expanded their attacks to 24 provinces over the past 24 hours, including Takhar, Helmand, Uruzgan, Kunduz, Baghlan, Laghman, Paktia, Paktika, Ghazni, Logar, Maidan Wardak, Kandahar, Zabul, Herat, Farah, Badghis, Faryab, Sar-e-Pul and Badakhshan.
--IANS ksk/