9 soldiers killed in Taliban ambush in N. Afghanistan

Six Afghan army soldiers and three police officers were killed and four security force members wounded in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan's northern Takhar province during Sunday night, a provincial government spokesman confirmed on Monday, reported Xinhua.

"Militants initially attacked a security checkpoint in Nawabad locality of Dasht-i-Qala district at mid-night. They also laid an ambush against a responding security forces' motorcade, triggering clashes along a road that left the above casualties," spokesman Jawad Hejri told Xinhua.

No details were immediately available about clashes in the security checkpoint in the region, 245 km north of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan.

Several militants were also killed and wounded during the fighting, he said. Several security forces and militants were also killed and wounded during clashes in Nawabad last week.

Such attacks had frequently happened when Taliban targeted responding security forces by roadside bombs or ambushes.

Violence lingers in the war-torn country even as peace talks between an Afghan government delegation and Taliban representatives are being held in Doha, capital of Gulf state of Qatar.

More than 130 people have been killed and over 100 wounded across the mountainous country over the weekend.