At least 37 civilians and members of Afghan security forces have been killed and 35 wounded in Kandahar after an overnight attack by Taliban militants on the city airport, with final mopping up still going on, officials said on Wednesday.In addition, nine Taliban were killed and another wounded with a final survivor still resisting security forces, said the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
Officials said fighters attacked a perimeter area of the huge and heavily fortified complex on Tuesday evening, initially taking up position in a school in a residential area of the site, which houses both a civilian airport and military base.The attack coincided with the start of the Heart of Asia regional security conference in Islamabad, where Afghan President Ashraf Ghani made a plea for more regional support to fight the Islamist insurgency.