KABUL, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Amid calls for cease-fire in Afghanistan, fighting continues in the country with more than 80 people killed in the past two days, officials said Friday.
In the latest clash, Taliban militants attacked security checkpoints in Bala Block district of the southwestern Farah province early Friday and the government forces retaliated from ground and air, killing seven militants and injuring three others, said an army statement.
In another development on Friday, Taliban-related activities killed four policemen including a police district chief in the western Herat province, said police official Atiqullah Wasiq.
According to official, five Taliban militants were killed and seven others injured in the fighting in Ghoryan district.
Army statement released in the southern Kandahar province reported the killing of 44 militants in the province on Thursday, when 17 militants were killed and four others injured in the eastern Nangarhar province.
According to another army statement, seven insurgents were killed in the southern Uruzgan province on Thursday night.
There have been no comments on the casualties in security forces.
Without commenting on the casualties on its side, spokesman for the Taliban militants Zabihullah Mujahid said that the group is capable enough to defend itself.
Fighting continues in Afghanistan amid peace talks in Doha, capital of Qatar, and despite domestic calls for a cease-fire.
The Afghan people from all walks of life have been calling on warring sides to end fighting if they want to see the peace talks succeed.
Afghan officials including Abdullah Abdullah, head of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation, have repeatedly demanded a cease-fire.
Hundreds of people at a gathering in the northern Kunduz city on Friday denounced the ongoing war as illegitimate and called on the Taliban group to observe cease-fire.
However, the Taliban outfit, according to local media reports, rejected the demand, saying there will be no truce unless the two sides reach an agreement on the future governing system of Afghanistan.
Negotiators from the Afghan government and Taliban sides resumed peace talks in Doha on Tuesday after a break of more than three weeks. Enditem
