100 Afghan soldiers go missing from Ghazni

About 100 soldiers of the Afghan Special Force have gone missing in the Ghazni province, where government troops are battling Taliban militants backed by US airstrikes, authorities said on Monday.

According to Tolo News, "10 personnel of the missing unit had been killed and 20 others discovered alive" in Ajristan district.

Ghazni, the capital of Ghazni province 125 km south of Kabul, is in its fourth day under siege after hundreds of Taliban fighters launched an attack on the city in the early hours of Friday.

Meanwhile, President Ashraf Ghani has ordered more troops to be sent to Ghazni.

The clashes erupted after hundreds of Taliban insurgents stormed important government entities including the National Directorate for Security (Afghanistan's Inteligence Agency) and the provincial governor's office.

Ghazni lies on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, an important artery connecting the capital to the country's southern provinces and some of its western ones.

--IANS

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