Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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Deadly Clashes Erupt in Volatile Northern Afghan Province

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - New clashes between government security forces
   and the Taliban in northern Afghanistan are said to have killed around
   20 combatants on both sides.

   The predawn fighting in Kunduz province erupted after insurgents
   assaulted several Afghan police outposts in the volatile Imam Sahib
   district.

   A provincial police spokesman, Inamuddin Rahmani, told VOA the clashes
   left at least nine police personnel, including a local commander, dead
   and several others injured. He said 11 assailants were also killed.

   For its part the Taliban claimed in a statement that the raid killed 14
   among the government forces and overran the security posts. It did not
   give insurgent casualties.

   It was not possible to verify either claim from independent sources in
   a province that has been the site of intense fighting for years. The
   Taliban twice captured, though briefly, the provincial capital, also
   known as Kunduz.

   The latest fighting comes as the United States is preparing to relaunch
   its peace negotiations with the Taliban, possibly next week, nearly
   three months after President Donald Trump abruptly halted the process.

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