At least 22 members of Afghanistan's security forces have been killed during the past 24 hours in attacks carried out in four provinces, officials said on Tuesday.
At least 10 soldiers were killed after the Taliban attacked four military bases in the Chimtal district of the northern Balkh province, provincial councilors Shah Mohammad and Ibrahim Khair Andish said.
The director of the 209th Corps Regional Hospital and his driver were killed in the same province on Monday, according to the officials.
Meanwhile, at least five police officers were killed and several others were wounded in Taliban attacks in the Dahan-e Ghori district in the northern Baghlan province, the officials said.
In the northeastern Badakhshan province, three members of the special forces were killed during a Taliban attack in the Zibak district, according to the provincial governor's media office.
The soldiers were on their way home when they were taken by the militants in the Warduj district a few days ago, before they were shot and killed, according to the office.
A further two members of the security forces were killed in the Pashtoon Kot district of the northern Faryab province, in an overnight attack by the Taliban, according to provincial councilor Nader Saeedi and provincial governor spokesperson Karim Yourish.
The attacks came as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani asked the Taliban to refrain from violence during the holy month of Ramadan, and to announce a cease-fire, in a televised address on Monday.
The Taliban has not yet responded to his request.
