Afghan official says16 militia killed in Taliban attack

KABUL – An Afghan official says Taliban fighters killed 16 militia loyal to the government in an early morning ambush in northern Badghis province.

Abdul Aziz Beg, head of the Badghis Provincial Council, says the militia force came under attack early Friday as they arrived to help local police, who had been attacked by Taliban insurgents in the Ab Kamari district.

In southern Kandahar province, Taliban fighters attacked a private Afghan construction company kidnapping 13 employees and 20 security personnel, said Zia Durrani, provincial police spokesman. Four border police were killed and one wounded in the fighting in Spin Boldak, near the border with Pakistan.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks since ending a three-day cease fire last weekend and have rejected President Ashraf Ghani’s offer to extend the truce.