Afghan officials say at least 15 soldiers have been killed in the latest in a series of attacks by Taliban militants in Kandahar Province.
Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Wazeri said on May 26 that the Taliban "launched a coordinated assault on an army base last night in the Shahwali Kot district."
Waziri said five other soldiers were wounded in the fighting, which he said began when the militants attacked at about 1:30 a.m. local time and continued until morning.
A provincial official said the death toll was 20, the AFP news agency reported.
Officials said on May 25 that 13 soldiers were killed and eight wounded in fighting that took place after Taliban militants stormed several security checkpoints in Kandahar Province overnight.
Also, Wazeri said on May 23 that at least 10 soldiers and 12 attackers were killed in fighting that began the previous night when militants attacked a different base in Shawali Kot.
Afghan security forces are battling a 16-year-long insurgency led by the Taliban, an extremist group that was driven from power after a U.S.-led invasion following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.
The United States is considering whether to send 3,000 to 5,000 more military advisers to help train and assist Afghan security forces.