Afghanistan: Taliban have killed or wounded over 400 security personnel in one week

“In the past one week, the Taliban carried out 222 attacks against the Afghan security forces, resulting in the death and injury of 422” personnel, said government official Tareq Arian at a press briefing in Kabul on Sunday.

He also blamed the Taliban for targeting religious scholars in a bid to put “psychological pressure” on the government.

“This has been the goal of the Taliban to target religious scholars, especially in the past two weeks.”

On Friday, a bomb blast ripped through a mosque in Afghanistan’s capital, killing at least four people, including the prayer leader.

The assault came just over a week after an attack claimed by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group at a mosque on the edge of Kabul’s heavily fortified diplomatic district killed a prominent prayer leader.

Afghan National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal on Sunday said the Taliban “have not reduced, but rather increased their attacks across the country.”

The United Nations (UN) has recently warned of an alarming uptick in violence against civilians and a “striking deterioration” in upholding international humanitarian law in Afghanistan.

Violence has surged despite a deal between the Taliban and the United States. Official data shows that Taliban bombings and other assaults have increased 70 percent since the militant group signed the deal with the United States in February.

Under the agreement, the US will withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, and the Taliban will refrain from attacking international occupying forces. The militants have made no pledge to avoid attacking Afghan forces and civilians.