Over 30 killed in series of Taliban attacks in Afghanistan

Afghan authorities reported over 30 fatalities in a series of clashes involving Taliban fighters. Mortar shells killed four students on Saturday and injured 17 people in Andar district of eastern Ghazni province amid a battle between Taliban and security forces. Nine police troops were killed in a separate Taliban attack on a security checkpoint in Ghazni city late on Friday. At least 12 security troops were killed in the fighting for the Arghanj Khaw district of the north-eastern Badakhshan province, which started on Thursday night and resulted in the militants taking control of the area. Four police officers were killed in an attack on a checkpoint in Zabul in southern Afghanistan on late Friday.