Over 40 police, servicemen killed in Farah, W. Afghanistan after Taliban attack bases – officials

Taliban fighters attacked Afghan bases in the western province of Farah, killing more than 40 police officers and servicemen, local officials said on Friday. Farid Bakhtawar, head of the Farah provincial council, said fighters had stormed a police base overnight in Balabuluk, a district that has been under heavy pressure for months, killing at least 23 and wounding three. In a separate attack in Farah city, Taliban fighters killed 11 police and seized a large quantity of weapons and equipment, Reuters quoted the official as saying. Last week, the Taliban, which challenges government control in almost half the country, seized a district in the northern province of Baghlan, and there has been heavy fighting in areas from Faryab in the northwest to Ghazni, south of Kabul.