At least 27 killed in attacks across three Afghan provinces

At least 27 people were killed in a series of Taliban attacks and explosions across the Afghan provinces of Faryab, Helmand and Kandahar, officials said Sunday.

Taliban attacks on facilities of Afghan security forces in the Qaisar district of Faryab province, in the country's north, left 22 dead, provincial councillors Mohammad Nader Saeedi and Abdul Baqi Hashimi said.

Another 14 people were injured, some critically, in clashes that started around 10:00 pm [17:30 GMT] and lasted for at least four hours, officials said.

The Taliban also held four soldiers captive, the officials added.

Three police checkpoints and a small military base were overrun by the militants, officials said.

Meanwhile, in southern Kandahar, four police officers were killed after a roadside bomb went off in the province's Arghandab district, provincial governor spokesman Aziz Ahmad Azizi said.

At the same time, a spy agency officer was killed and three of his colleagues were injured when a magnetic bomb attached to their vehicle exploded in Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand province in the south, provincial governor spokesman Omar Zwak said.

The Taliban has increased attacks on Afghan security forces across the country, leaving behind scores of dead.

The attacks took place as the insurgent group was in talks with a US delegation to find a political solution to the war.

The United States has met with Taliban representatives six times since July last year in hopes of bringing its longest war in history to an end.