Taliban attacks airport in southern Afghan city of Kandahar

Taliban insurgents on Tuesday attacked Kandahar Airfield, a major base for USA military and intelligence forces as well as the Afghan army, government and Taliban officials said.

At least eight people were killed after Taliban militants stormed the airport complex in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar city, triggering an all-night gun battle, Afghan officials said on Wednesday.

One Afghan commander in Kandahar, Dawood Shah Wafadar, told the BBC the militants had also entered a house where they were holding a family hostage.

The sprawling Kandahar Air Field has military and civilian sections. The insurgents are regularly known to exaggerate battlefield claims.

Ghani on Monday confirmed he would travel to Pakistan this week for a regional conference, signalling new efforts to reduce tensions between the countries and revive peace talks. The Taliban has been carrying out an increasing number of attacks in Afghanistan since worldwide coalition forces pulled back their presence a year ago.

A pro-Taliban website writes the insurgents have launched the attack against domestic and foreign forces.

Talks were stalled, however, after the Taliban confirmed belatedly that their longtime leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, died in the Pakistani city of Karachi in 2013.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, also at the conference which began on Tuesday, has called for Pakistan to use its influence with the Afghan Taliban to push for Afghan reconciliation.

Over the weekend, the Taliban released an audio message it said was from its leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour to counter widespread reports of his death.

A breakaway faction of the Taliban led by Mullah Mohamed Rasool was formed last month, in the first formal division in the once-unified group.

Raziq Shirzai, the Afghan air force commander in the southern region, told the BBC that there were some civilians among the dead and wounded.

Earlier in September, Taliban fighters briefly captured the northern provincial capital of Kunduz.