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                 Afghan Army General Killed in Roadside Bombing

   by Ayaz Gul

   A roadside bomb went off Thursday in southern Afghanistan, killing a
   top Afghan army commander.

   Local officials told VOA that General Abdul Basir Sheerwand, of the
   Afghan army's 205 Corps, was involved in an anti-Taliban operation in
   Kandahar province when the deadly blast occurred.

   No other details were available.

   The security operation in the area has been underway to evict Taliban
   insurgents who have for weeks seized and blocked a portion of the main
   highway linking Kandahar to Uruzgan province.

   General Sheerwand is the second Afghan army general to have been killed
   by Taliban insurgents in Kandahar within the past two months.

   Separately, officials confirmed Thursday that eight police officers
   were killed by a colleague who turned his gun on them in southern Zabul
   province.

   A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn "insider"
   attack in the provincial capital, Qalatt, saying the shooter had
   infiltrated police ranks and has now returned to the insurgent group.

   Insider attacks, often claimed by the Taliban, are not uncommon among
   Afghan security forces.

   Earlier this month, two Romanian NATO soldiers were shot dead at an
   Afghan military base in Kandahar.

   The attackers, wearing uniforms of the security forces, were killed in
   return fire and the Taliban later claimed responsibility.

   The Taliban inflicted heavy casualties on Afghan security forces during
   the 2015 fighting season, killing nearly 6,000 personnel, including
   soldiers and police, while another 14,000 were wounded. The militant
   group also captured more territory then at any point since it was
   ousted from power in 2001 for harboring al-Qaida.

   The U.S.-led military coalition ended its combat mission in 2014,
   leaving behind some 13,000-troops, mostly Americans, to train Afghan
   forces and conduct counterterrorism operations.

   Afghan leaders blame the withdrawal of international forces for the
   battlefield and other losses but have vowed to evict Taliban insurgents
   from areas they now control and keep them from making advances this
   year.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/afghanistan-general-sheerwand-killed/3337247.html