Insurgents Kill 13 Afghan Troops In Separate Attacks

Insurgents have killed at least 13 Afghan security forces in separate attacks, Afghan officials have said.

Munir Ahmad Farhad, spokesman for the governor of the northern Balkh Province, said on April 9 that a roadside bomb killed nine Afghan troops and wounded several more late on April 8 in the Chimtal district during an operation against the Taliban.

He said five insurgents were killed and dozens wounded.

In a separate incident also on April 8, militants with the extremist group Islamic State (IS) attacked the Darzab district headquarters in the neighboring Jowzjan Province, a spokesman for the provincial governor said.

Four Afghan reinforcements, including a unit commander, were killed in an ambush as they raced to the scene of the clashes, he said.

The attacks come amid Afghanistan's spring fighting season, when warmer weather brings increased operations by both militants and government forces.

Afghan forces have struggled to combat the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission in 2014.

The U.S. military said earlier a U.S. soldier was killed in Afghanistan while conducting a mission against an affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

The soldier was a member of U.S. Special Operations Forces helping Afghan forces battle IS militants in Nangarhar Province, the U.S. said.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa