HERAT, Afghanistan: At least 19 Afghan police officers were killed Saturday in a pre-dawn raid by the Taliban on a base in the northern province of Kunduz, officials said, hours before the militants announced an unprecedented ceasefire starting next week.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which came a day after the insurgents stormed a military base in the western province of Herat, killing 17 Afghan soldiers.
Kunduz provincial governor spokesman Nehmatullah Taimuri said five members of the local police force were also wounded in Saturday's attack on a police base in Qal-e-Zal district.
Provincial police spokesman Enhamuddin Rahmani confirmed the death toll and said eight Taliban fighters were also killed.
Both attacks came hours before the Taliban announced a ceasefire with Afghan security forces for the first three days of Eid, the holiday that caps Ramadan and which is due to begin at the end of next week.
That unexpected move came two days after the Afghan government's own surprise announcement of an apparently unilateral week-long halt to operations against the Taliban.
It would last "from the 27th of Ramadan until the fifth day of Eid-al-Fitr", President Ashraf Ghani tweeted from an official account, indicating the ceasefire could run from June 12-19.
Taliban raid on Afghan military base kills 19: officials
Taliban raid on Afghan military base kills 19: officials
Iranian drones hit Azerbaijan airport
- Azerbaijan on Thursday summoned the Iranian envoy after two people were wounded in drone hits on an airport and near a school
DUBAI: Azerbaijan on Thursday summoned the Iranian envoy after two people were wounded in drone hits on an airport and near a school.
The attacks around midday involved at least two drones that crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhichevan, which borders Iran and is separated from mainland Azerbaijan by Armenia, said a foreign ministry statement.
“One drone fell on the terminal building of Nakhichevan Airport, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shekerabad,” the ministry said, damaging the airport and wounding two civilians.
The ministry said it had summoned Iranian envoy in Baku to express “strong protest” over the attack, which “contradicts the norms and principles of international law and contributes to rising tensions in the region.
“Azerbaijan reserves the right to take appropriate retaliatory measures,” it added.
Iran has long expressed concern that Israel — a close ally of Azerbaijan and a key arms supplier — could use Azerbaijani territory to stage attacks.
Last June, Azerbaijan reassured Iran that it would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against Tehran after Israel launched a large-scale strike on Iranian targets.
Tehran has historically been wary of separatist sentiment among its ethnic Azerbaijani minority, which makes up around 10 million of Iran’s 83 million citizens.
Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry lodged an official protest with the Iranian embassy on Thursday after a pair of Iranian drones flew across the border into Azerbaijan and injured two people at an airport in the Nakhchivan exclave.
“This attack on the territory of Azerbaijan contradicts the norms and principles of international law and contributes to increased tensions in the region,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran clarify the matter in the shortest possible time, provide an explanation and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.”
The Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan has been summoned to the foreign ministry to receive a formal note of protest, Baku said.
The statement said Azerbaijan reserved the right to carry out “appropriate response measures” against Tehran.
Azerbaijan’s ministry said one drone fell on the terminal building of the Nakhchivan International Airport, which is approximately 10 km (6 miles) across the border from Iran, and another drone landed close to a school building in a nearby village.
A source close to the Azerbaijani government told Reuters a fire had started as a result of the incident.
Video footage shared by the source showed black smoke rising near the airport and damage to the skylight inside the terminal building.
