One of the attacks targeting foreign troops happened near the Bagram airbase. A suicide bomber on a motorbike approached a joint US-Afghan patrol and set off the explosive device. Five soldiers were killed and six inured, Bagram Governor Abdul Shukur Qudusi said.
Another attack near the capital, Kabul, followed the same pattern. A suicide bomber targeted a joint patrol of eight troops, killing three foreigners, said Mohammad Asim Asim, governor of Parwan Province.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks, which coincide with a major insurgency push in Helmand Province. Over 90 security troops have been killed over the past two days as the militants are threatening to take over the volatile southern province, according to deputy governor Mohammad Jan Rasulyar.
Fighting in Helmand, where Taliban presence is strong, intensified about two months ago. The group took over the entire Sangin district except the police headquarters on Monday, police chief Mohammad Dawood said Monday.
The situation in Helmand is not unlike the one that led to the Taliban takeover of the northern city of Kunduz in late September. They kept control of the town for several days before government forces with heavy air support from the US managed to retake the city.
The fight for Kunduz marked one of the worst blunders for the US Air Force in years, when it mistakenly bombed a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders.
Taliban attacks kill 8 in Afghanistan, part of Helmand province seized
21 December 2015
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Militant Taliban groups have launched a major offensive in Afghanistan
