The Taliban have attacked an Afghan National Army checkpoint in the southern province of Zabul, killing six soldiers, the Defence Ministry said on Monday.
A source, meanwhile, revealed that nine soldiers were killed in the Arghandab district last night as a result of an infiltration in the armed forces. The attacker took away several weapons and fled the area, the source added.
Zabul Governor Rahmatullah Yarmal denied that the troops had been killed as a result of an infiltration. He insisted that six soldiers had passed away after clashes with the Taliban as the latter plotted a massive attack in the district.
Taliban have not commented on the incident yet.
On February 29, the US and the Taliban agreed to a peace deal in the Qatari capital of Doha, according to which the intra-Afghan negotiation was scheduled to begin on 10 March. Nonetheless, the power crisis between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who refuses to concede his defeat in the presidential election, as well as Kabul's reluctance to exchange prisoners with the Taliban, resulted in a standstill in the peace process