Taliban Target Afghan Army in Country's South, Kill 10

A powerful explosion first hit an army checkpoint late Friday, followed by an hours-long gunbattle, said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor. The attack also wounded four soldiers, he said, AP reported.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the insurgents also seized weapons and ammunition. The insurgents have a strong presence in Helmand province, especially in Sangin district, where the attack took place.

The Taliban has increased its attacks in recent days against Afghan army bases and checkpoints across different provinces.

A similar attack killed six Afghan soldiers on Thursday, when a suicide bomber detonated a car laden with explosives outside an army compound in the northern Balkh province. Militants then stormed the compound. The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the attack.

On Tuesday, another attack on a checkpoint in Balk province killed at least seven Afghan soldiers. At the time, the Taliban said it also captured four Afghan troops and seized weapons and ammunition.

On Monday, an American soldier was killed in combat in northern Kunduz province. The Taliban claimed it was behind a fatal roadside bombing that targeted American and Afghan forces in Kunduz.

The Taliban now controls or holds sway over practically half of Afghanistan. The insurgents continue to stage near-daily attacks targeting Afghan and US forces, as well as government officials, even as it holds peace talks with a US envoy tasked with negotiating an end to the 18-year conflict, America's longest war. Scores of Afghan civilians are also killed in the crossfire or by roadside bombs planted by militants.