AT News
KABUL: At least 10 members of the Afghan National Army (ANA) have lost their lives and three more received injuries after a number of Taliban militants attacked their checkpoint in northern Balkh province, local sources said on Tuesday.
Five more security forces were taken hostage by the Taliban, the sources added.
The incident took place at an outpost in Sar Asyab village of the Chimtal district of the province on Monday night.
The Taliban group is yet to assert responsibility for the attack.
This comes as the Taliban refused to observe a ceasefire in the holy month of Ramadan. The Taliban killed three Afghan security forces on the first day of Ramadan in Badakhshan province.
President Ashraf Ghani called on the Taliban to halt fighting and observe a ceasefire during the holy month of Ramadan.
In his message on the start of Ramadan, Ghani has asked the Taliban group to prove its willingness for achieving peace in action and not in word.
Meanwhile, in their separate messages on the occasion, United Nations, Canada and International Union for Muslim Scholars have also called on warring sides including Taliban to observe truce during the holy month.