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Militancy and conflicts have left 18 people dead and more than a dozen others injured in Afghanistan on Monday as Taliban launched their spring offensive.
In the anti-government massive offensive against security checkpoints in parts of Ghazni province with Ghazni city as its capital 125 km south of the country's capital Kabul city which launched at 05:00 a.m. local time three people including a police and two civilians were killed.
"Around 300 Taliban rebels raided security checkpoints in Andar, Waghaz and Zana Khan districts of Ghazni province at 05:00 a.m. local time Monday morning and security forces encountered forcing the militants to flee," deputy to provincial police chief Assadullah Insafi told Xinhua.
He also confirmed that three persons including a police constable and two civilians were killed in the firefight that lasted for a while and eight others, including a police, three children and a woman sustained injuries.
Nine Taliban had been detained by security forces during the clash, Insafi said.
Hours later, three Taliban suicide bombers targeted the justice department building in Jalalabad city the capital of eastern Nangarhar province 120 km east of Kabul.
"Three militants targeted provincial Directorate of Justice's office at around 09:45 a.m.local time Monday triggering gun battle.
However, the security forces cleared the building after exchange of fire which lasted for hours, leaving the trio attacker dead," a security source told Xinhua.
Meanwhile, spokesman for Nangarhar provincial government, Ahmad Zia Abdulzai in talks with Xinhua said that three attackers, two police and three civilians had been killed in the firefight lasted for hours and few more persons injured. However, he didn't give the exact number of the injured.
The attack on justice department was followed by a bomb blast in Jalalabad city which injured six people, including four civilians and two police. In a related incident seven police were shot dead early Monday as a security checkpoint came under attack in Sangin district of southern Helmand province on Monday, district governor, Sulaiman Shah Sarwani, told Xinhua.
At least two rockets landed in the outskirts of the heavily guarded Kabul airport on Monday morning, causing no loss of life, according to a local media.
The wave of Afghan militancy coincided with the date set by Taliban militants to launch spring offensive from May 12. "The spring operation code named 'Khyber' will be launched at 05: 00 a.m. local time on Monday May 12, 2014 across Afghanistan against invading forces with the objective to get the country's freedom from infields," a statement posted on Taliban outfit's website on Thursday said.
