According to reports, the Taliban will raise&nbsp;a special battalion of suicide bombers.

Afghan media reports quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying that the new suicide battalion will be part of the special forces.

Reports claimed the Taliban spokesman said women will be recuited into the country's army based on specific requirements. Afghan media reported that the Taliban has deployed suicide bombers along the Tajikistan border, however, it hasn't been confirmed.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-halts-iron-ore-extraction-amid-talks-with-russians-on-gas-refineries-442373">Also Read:&nbsp;Taliban halts iron ore extraction amid talks with Russians on gas refineries</a>

Reports said the country's defence ministry had proposed to raise a&nbsp;100,000 strong army. The Taliban already has the Badri special forces unit which it had paraded soon after it took control of Kabul in August last year.

Taliban spokesman &nbsp;Mohammad Naeem in a recent tweet had asked his fighters not to mistreat soldiers of the former regime after a video of an army commander being beaten went viral on social media.

Human rights groups have accused the Taliban of carrying out killings of ex-members of the Afghan security forces even as the Taliban officials have urged many former administration officials not to leave the country.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/watch-pakistani-forces-and-taliban-clash-again-over-border-fencing-issue-441936">Watch: Pakistani forces and Taliban clash again over border fencing issue</a>

Tensions between the Taliban and Pakistani military officials continues at the border. Last month, Taliban soliders barred the Pakistani military from erecting a fence at the border. The Taliban called the fence &nbsp;"illegal" as the Taliban moved to disrupt the border fence.

Taliban soldiers had annexed several border checkpoints belonging to the former regime along the Tajikistan border last year as they marched to Kabul.&nbsp;

Last year Tajik officials had said China is set to build a police base in Tajikistan near the Afghan border.&nbsp;The Tajikistan government has received financial assistance from China and the United States to build its border posts.

(With inputs from Agencies)&nbsp;

According to reports, the Taliban will raise a special battalion of suicide bombers. Afghan media reports quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying that the new suicide battalion will be part of the special forces.

According to reports, the Taliban will raise a special battalion of suicide bombers. Afghan media reports quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying that the new suicide battalion will be part of the special forces. Reports claimed the Taliban spokesman said women will be recuited into the country's army based on specific requirements. Afghan media reported that the Taliban has deployed suicide bombers along the Tajikistan border, however, it hasn't been confirmed. Also Read: Taliban halts iron ore extraction amid talks with Russians on gas refineries Reports said the country's defence ministry had proposed to raise a 100,000 strong army. The Taliban already has the Badri special forces unit which it had paraded soon after it took control of Kabul in August last year. Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem in a recent tweet had asked his fighters not to mistreat soldiers of the former regime after a video of an army commander being beaten went viral on social media. Human rights groups have accused the Taliban of carrying out killings of ex-members of the Afghan security forces even as the Taliban officials have urged many former administration officials not to leave the country. Watch: Pakistani forces and Taliban clash again over border fencing issue Tensions between the Taliban and Pakistani military officials continues at the border. Last month, Taliban soliders barred the Pakistani military from erecting a fence at the border. The Taliban called the fence "illegal" as the Taliban moved to disrupt the border fence. Taliban soldiers had annexed several border checkpoints belonging to the former regime along the Tajikistan border last year as they marched to Kabul. Last year Tajik officials had said China is set to build a police base in Tajikistan near the Afghan border. The Tajikistan government has received financial assistance from China and the United States to build its border posts. (With inputs from Agencies)

Suicide bombers to be part of Afghan army: Report

A US&nbsp;soldier killed by an improvised bomb in Afghanistan has been identified as Army Sgt. 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz of Puerto Rico, the Department of Defense said on Friday.

Barreto, 34 and based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was killed on Thursday when an improvised bomb in a vehicle exploded in a suicide attack near his vehicle in the Afghan capital Kabul, the department said in a statement.

Barreto was a paratrooper and maintenance control sergeant in the 82nd Brigade Support Battalion.

A Romanian soldier also died in the attack near a neighbourhood in Kabul that housed embassy staff from the United States and other countries, the Army Times reported on its website.

The incident is under investigation, the department said.

A US soldier killed by an improvised bomb in Afghanistan has been identified as Army Sgt. 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz of Puerto Rico, the Department of Defense said on Friday.

A US soldier killed by an improvised bomb in Afghanistan has been identified as Army Sgt. 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz of Puerto Rico, the Department of Defense said on Friday. Barreto, 34 and based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was killed on Thursday when an improvised bomb in a vehicle exploded in a suicide attack near his vehicle in the Afghan capital Kabul, the department said in a statement. Barreto was a paratrooper and maintenance control sergeant in the 82nd Brigade Support Battalion. A Romanian soldier also died in the attack near a neighbourhood in Kabul that housed embassy staff from the United States and other countries, the Army Times reported on its website. The incident is under investigation, the department said.

United States soldier killed in Afghanistan identified

&nbsp;Nearly 2,300 civilians were killed or wounded in suicide bombings and attacks in Afghanistan in 2017, more than any previous year of the conflict on record, a UN report said today.

The figures come as militants ramp up their assaults on urban areas, after US President Donald Trump said last August the American presence in Afghanistan would remain open-ended and Washington stepped up airstrikes on rural militant strongholds.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that civilian deaths across the country dipped by nine per cent in 2017, with 10,453 total civilian casualties including 3,438 deaths and 7,015 wounded.

But as the Taliban and the Islamic State group have come under more pressure they have increasingly carried out indiscriminate assaults in cities.

As a result, casualties from suicide bombings and attacks jumped by 17 per cent.

&quot;2017 recorded the highest number of civilian casualties from suicide and complex attacks in a single year in Afghanistan,&quot; the report said, with 605 killed and 1,690 wounded from such incidents.

The capital remained a top target, with 16 per cent of all casualties during the year - a total of 1,831 people killed and wounded - occurring in Kabul alone.

&quot;Afghan civilians have been killed going about their daily lives -- travelling on a bus, praying in a mosque, simply walking past a building that was targeted,&quot; Zeid Ra&#39;ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, was quoted as saying in the report.

&quot;When we see civilians being deliberately targeted, you wonder how long that this (has) to go on,&quot; Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN&#39;s special representative in Afghanistan, told a press conference in Kabul Thursday. 
Militants claim to represent Afghan interests but are &quot;killing people in the most appalling manner, creating terror and suffering&quot;, he said.

Things have not improved so far in 2018, and he warned the UN is concerned it will see &quot;greater harm this year&quot;.

Since January 20, militants have stormed a luxury hotel, bombed a crowded street and raided a military compound in Kabul, killing more than 130 people.

The majority of the victims in 2017 were killed or wounded by anti-government insurgents, according to the report.

However pro-government forces, including international troops, were responsible for 20 per cent of the civilian casualties -- a seven percent increase from 2016.

The casualties by pro-government forces were mainly caused by the increase in aerial bombings by Afghan and foreign forces, the UNAMA said. The US is the only international force known to be carrying out airstrikes in Afghanistan.

More than 28,000 civilians have been killed and over 52,000 wounded in Afghanistan since 2009 when officials started documenting the casualties, according to the UN.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported that civilian deaths across the country dipped by nine per cent in 2017

Nearly 2,300 civilians were killed or wounded in suicide bombings and attacks in Afghanistan in 2017, more than any previous year of the conflict on record, a UN report said today. The figures come as militants ramp up their assaults on urban areas, after US President Donald Trump said last August the American presence in Afghanistan would remain open-ended and Washington stepped up airstrikes on rural militant strongholds. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that civilian deaths across the country dipped by nine per cent in 2017, with 10,453 total civilian casualties including 3,438 deaths and 7,015 wounded. But as the Taliban and the Islamic State group have come under more pressure they have increasingly carried out indiscriminate assaults in cities. As a result, casualties from suicide bombings and attacks jumped by 17 per cent. "2017 recorded the highest number of civilian casualties from suicide and complex attacks in a single year in Afghanistan," the report said, with 605 killed and 1,690 wounded from such incidents. The capital remained a top target, with 16 per cent of all casualties during the year - a total of 1,831 people killed and wounded - occurring in Kabul alone. "Afghan civilians have been killed going about their daily lives -- travelling on a bus, praying in a mosque, simply walking past a building that was targeted," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, was quoted as saying in the report. "When we see civilians being deliberately targeted, you wonder how long that this (has) to go on," Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN's special representative in Afghanistan, told a press conference in Kabul Thursday. Militants claim to represent Afghan interests but are "killing people in the most appalling manner, creating terror and suffering", he said. Things have not improved so far in 2018, and he warned the UN is concerned it will see "greater harm this year". Since January 20, militants have stormed a luxury hotel, bombed a crowded street and raided a military compound in Kabul, killing more than 130 people. The majority of the victims in 2017 were killed or wounded by anti-government insurgents, according to the report. However pro-government forces, including international troops, were responsible for 20 per cent of the civilian casualties -- a seven percent increase from 2016. The casualties by pro-government forces were mainly caused by the increase in aerial bombings by Afghan and foreign forces, the UNAMA said. The US is the only international force known to be carrying out airstrikes in Afghanistan. More than 28,000 civilians have been killed and over 52,000 wounded in Afghanistan since 2009 when officials started documenting the casualties, according to the UN.

2,300 civilians killed or wounded in suicide bombings in Afghanistan last year: UN report