KABUL: Taliban militants killed 30 members of the Afghan security forces in an ambush in the western province of Badghis on Wednesday, the provincial governor said, their first major attack since a ceasefire for the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The three-day Taliban ceasefire ended on Sunday. Provincial governor Abdul Qafoor Malikzai said the Taliban attacked two security posts in the early hours. Abdul Aziz Bek, head of the Badghis provincial council, said one military base was targeted, in the district of Bala. "Large numbers of Taliban came from several directions," Beksaid.

The government also called a ceasefire for the holiday and Taliban fighters headed into cities across the country over the weekend as both sides celebrated the end of the fasting month of Ramazaninfo-icon. The government extended its unilateral ceasefire, initially due to end on Wednesday, by 10 days.