Officials in Afghanistan said Wednesday a commando operation in a northwestern region has freed 62 security personnel held in a Taliban prison. Meanwhile, the insurgent group, in a fresh attack elsewhere, says it has killed at least 18 Afghan security forces.

A Defense Ministry statement noted the overnight commando raid targeted the insurgent-run detention center in the restive Bala Murghab district in Badghis province.

It captured five Taliban guards and inflicted casualties on several others, the statement said. The freed captives were mostly members of the Afghan National Army (ANA).

There was no immediate reaction from the Taliban.

Officials, meanwhile, said a major insurgent assault late Tuesday targeted a military base in the troubled northern Kunduz province, killing at least 18 security forces, mostly ANA personnel. 

A Taliban statement claimed its fighters overran the base in Dashti Archi district, killing 35 Afghan forces and capturing four others, though the group often exaggerates its battlefield actions.

Source : VOA