17 soldiers killed in attacks in Afghanistan   

KABUL :   At least 17 Afghan soldiers were killed and 11 others wounded in separate attacks in Afghanistan during Sunday night, a local independent war monitoring group reported on Monday.
In southern Helmand province, 11 army soldiers died, and 13 others were captured by militants after Taliban rebels attacked a military camp along a provincial highway in Nahri Sarraj district section, Reduction in Violence (RiV) said on the social media platform twitter.
Citing local officials, the group reported that two policemen died and eight police were wounded when a Taliban explosive-laded hijacked military vehicle was detonated at a security checkpoint in Helmand’s Nawa district.
Four army soldiers lost their lives, three were wounded and seven others captured by armed militants in Shindand district of western Herat province, according to RiV.
Taliban militants, who ruled the country before being ousted in late 2001, renewed armed insurgency killing government troops as well as civilians.
They have been frequently attacking district offices, military camps, government installations and security checkpoints, while the Afghan government troops respond with airstrikes on militant targets in the countryside.  (Xinhua)