The Afghan Taliban will target foreign forces in the country, the group said Friday, as they announced Friday the start of their spring offensive.

&quot;The key objective... will be the foreign forces, their military infrastructure and intelligence, and the elimination of their local mercenaries,&quot; the extremist group said in a statement.&nbsp;

&quot;The enemy will be targeted, harassed, killed or captured until they abandon their last posts.&quot;&nbsp;

Operation Mansouri -- named after the group&#39;s former leader who was killed in a US drone strike in May 2016 -- will use strategies from &quot;conventional attack to guerrilla operations&quot;, the statement said.

Followers were told they can be &quot;suicide attacks, complex attacks and inside attacks&quot; by soldiers or police turning against their peers.&nbsp;

The announcement came after the Taliban killed scores of people in a raid on an army base in northern Afghanistan, one of its deadliest assaults on a military installation since the 2001 US-led invasion.&nbsp;

Authorities have arrested 35 soldiers who served on the sprawling base, home to the 209th Army Corps, outside the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

The defence ministry says 135 recruits were killed and 64 wounded in the raid. Unofficial sources say the toll was higher.&nbsp;

(AFP)

'The key objective... will be the foreign forces,' the extremist group said in a statement

The Afghan Taliban will target foreign forces in the country, the group said Friday, as they announced Friday the start of their spring offensive. "The key objective... will be the foreign forces, their military infrastructure and intelligence, and the elimination of their local mercenaries," the extremist group said in a statement. "The enemy will be targeted, harassed, killed or captured until they abandon their last posts." Operation Mansouri -- named after the group's former leader who was killed in a US drone strike in May 2016 -- will use strategies from "conventional attack to guerrilla operations", the statement said. Followers were told they can be "suicide attacks, complex attacks and inside attacks" by soldiers or police turning against their peers. The announcement came after the Taliban killed scores of people in a raid on an army base in northern Afghanistan, one of its deadliest assaults on a military installation since the 2001 US-led invasion. Authorities have arrested 35 soldiers who served on the sprawling base, home to the 209th Army Corps, outside the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The defence ministry says 135 recruits were killed and 64 wounded in the raid. Unofficial sources say the toll was higher. (AFP)

Afghan Taliban announce start of 'spring offensive'

Taliban leader on Sunday urged Afghans to plant more trees as the militant organisation gears up for the beginning of the annual fighting season.&nbsp;

In a rare public remark,&nbsp;Haibatullah Akhundzada posted the message on the group&#39;s website, saying: &quot;The Mujahideen and beloved countrymen must join hands in tree plantation and not hold back any effort in this regard.&quot;

Akhundzada further eulogised about the importance of trees: &quot;(They play) an&nbsp;important role in environmental protection, economic development and beautification of earth.&quot;

Akhundzada took over the reins of Taliban after his predecessor Akhtar Mansour and the second-in-command were killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan last May.&nbsp;

Sediq Sediqqi, the interior ministry spokesman, responded by saying the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;should stop planting bombs instead.&nbsp;

&quot;They should stop planting IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that are killing so many innocent Afghans including children and women daily&quot;, he said on his Twitter account.&nbsp;

Afghan civilian casualties in 2016 were the highest recorded by the UN, with nearly 11,500 non-combatants killed or wounded.

More than 3,500 children were among the victims, a &quot;disproportionate&quot; increase of 24 percent in one year, the UN said in a recent report.

Afghanistan last year also saw the highest recorded civilian casualties caused by pressure-plate IEDs in a single year, according to the world body.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Sediq Sediqqi, the interior ministry spokesman, responded by saying the?Taliban?should stop planting bombs instead

Taliban leader on Sunday urged Afghans to plant more trees as the militant organisation gears up for the beginning of the annual fighting season. In a rare public remark, Haibatullah Akhundzada posted the message on the group's website, saying: "The Mujahideen and beloved countrymen must join hands in tree plantation and not hold back any effort in this regard." Akhundzada further eulogised about the importance of trees: "(They play) an important role in environmental protection, economic development and beautification of earth." Akhundzada took over the reins of Taliban after his predecessor Akhtar Mansour and the second-in-command were killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan last May. Sediq Sediqqi, the interior ministry spokesman, responded by saying the Taliban should stop planting bombs instead. "They should stop planting IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that are killing so many innocent Afghans including children and women daily", he said on his Twitter account. Afghan civilian casualties in 2016 were the highest recorded by the UN, with nearly 11,500 non-combatants killed or wounded. More than 3,500 children were among the victims, a "disproportionate" increase of 24 percent in one year, the UN said in a recent report. Afghanistan last year also saw the highest recorded civilian casualties caused by pressure-plate IEDs in a single year, according to the world body. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Taliban calls on Afghans to plant trees as 'Spring offensive' looms

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