Thu 22 October 2020:
The attack on a religious school in the northeastern province of Takhar also wounded 14 others
An Afghan military air strike targeting Taliban fighters killed at least 12 people, including children, and wounded 14 in an attack that hit a mosque in the northeastern province of Takhar, provincial officials said on Thursday.
The strike came Wednesday after suspected Taliban fighters targeted Afghan security forces in the area.
In an account disputed by the national government, local authorities said on Thursday that 11 children and a prayer leader were killed in the attack.
Taliban fighters had killed at least 37 government troops in attacks over the past 72 hours as the insurgents mounted an offensive to overrun Baharak district in Takhar, prompting government forces to call in air support, provincial officials said.
Abdul Qayoom Hayrat, head of the provincial health department in Takhar, said that 10 of the dead were members of Afghan special forces. A Taliban spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid, confirmed the insurgents were engaged in fighting with government forces in Takhar.
Afghanistan is suffering heightened levels of violence while talks are under way in Qatar that could help the United States find a way out of its longest war.
The US signed an agreement with the Taliban in February to promote a negotiated end to the 19-year conflict, and talks between the armed group and the US-backed government began more than a month ago, but have yet to yield any major breakthrough.
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