KABUL (REUTERS) - A Taleban attack on a military outpost in the northern province of Baghlan in the early hours of Wednesday (Aug 15) killed as many as 44 Afghan police and soldiers, provincial officials said, as the insurgents kept up pressure on government forces.

There was no immediate comment from the defence ministry but officials in the area said nine police officers and 35 soldiers were killed in the attack, the latest in a series that have killed dozens of members of the security forces in provinces across Afghanistan.