At least 12 Taliban members were killed and six wounded in counter-attacks undertaken by the Afghan National Security and Defence Forces in Kandahar province of Afghanistan, as per a report by Reporterly. 

The counter-offensives by Afghan forces came in response to the Taliban attacks in Zherai district of the province and the Afghan National Army repelled these enemy attacks, the Ministry of Defense said on Thursday. 

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is also visiting Kandahar today to meet with local elders and officials in the province, reports say. Since the last two months, the province has witnessed heavy fightings between the Taliban fighters and the Afghan forces.  Thousands of civilians have been displayed due to clashes there.

Earlier, on Tuesday evening, the insurgent had killed around 13 members of the Afghan security force in an attack in northern Baghlan province. The Ministry of Interior said on Wednesday the insurgent group had also suffered heavy casualties during the clashes. 

Afghan President Ghani on Wednesday met with General Miller, the commander of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, to take stock of the security situation in the country. Both have expressed concern over the escalation of fighting in the country, informed Sediq Seddiqqi, Ghani’s spokesperson. 

Coincidentally, a delegation of the Taliban leaders, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, is also camping in neighbouring Pakistan to discuss progress in the intra-Afghan dialogues with Pakistan’s leadership in Islamabad.   

Mullah Baradar, the deputy leader of the Taliban and the head of the Doha Political office, is due to meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan today.