Taliban kill 17 Afghan soldiers

Taliban militants killed 17 Afghan soldiers in the far north-east in one of the deadliest single attacks on government security forces in recent years, officials said Wednesday. The men were taken hostage in Badakhshan on Saturday while guarding a convoy. Their bodies were discovered by local people in the relatively peaceful mountainous province, which borders China, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
"The enemy have executed 17 soldiers whose bodies were found last night," provincial deputy police chief Sayed Jahangir Keramat said. "Seven other soldiers were released in exchange for some Taliban prisoners." Afghan government forces have increasingly suffered the brunt of insurgent attacks as they prepare to take responsibility for national security when the bulk of Nato combat troops withdraw next year. The attack in Badakhshan will heighten concern that Afghan forces cannot provide security across the country, where a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban regime in 2001.