Dozens killed, wounded in Taliban attack on Afghan airport

Dozens of people were killed in fighting at the airport in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar after an overnight attack by Taliban insurgents while a key district in neighbouring Helmand province fell to the insurgents, officials said on Wednesday.

The attack on the airport, one of the most heavily protected bases in the country, underlined the Taliban's ability to inflict serious damage on security forces that are still shaken by the insurgents' brief capture of the northern city of Kunduz in September.

With final mopping up operations continuing late on Wednesday afternoon in Kandahar, 24 hours after the attack began, 37 civilians and members of Afghan security forces had been killed and 35 wounded, the defence ministry said.

In addition, nine Taliban were killed and another wounded with a final survivor still resisting security forces, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the effort to repel the attack had proceeded slowly to minimise casualties.

http://in.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-airport-idINKBN0TS0BL20151209