Nine security force members were killed in an attack by the Taliban on Monday night in the northern province of Baghlan on Monday evening, sources from the province said.

The attack happened in the Jar Khoshk area in Baghlan-e-Markazi, the sources said, adding that “the Taliban have taken captive 16 other security force members.”

“The clashes continued until Tuesday morning,” the sources.

Local security officials have not commented on the clashes.

Taliban claimed the attack. The group claimed that over 25 security force members were killed in the attack.

This comes amidst a sharp increase in violence in various parts of the country. Farah in the west of Afghanistan province witnessed deadly attacks on Sunday.

According to officials and sources, 20 soldiers were killed in Farah, 4 in Baghlan, 8 in Badakhshan and 5 in Herat in the last 24 hours.

Badakhshan, Herat, Kabul, Logar, Nangarhar, Baghlan and Helmand provinces also witnessed security incidents and Taliban attacks in the last 24 hours. In these provinces, at least 19 civilians and security forces were killed and 22 more were wounded.

Figures by security agencies show that 164 small and large attacks by the Taliban have occurred over the last 24 hours, up from 141 on the previous day.

The Ministry of Defense in a statement said that 62 Taliban were killed and 58 more were wounded by Afghan forces defending positions in Laghman, Ghazni, Balkh, Herat, Faryab, Farah and Badakhshan provinces in the last 24 hours.

The ministry in a separate statement said that 11 militants, including 9 Taliban members and 2 al Qaeda members, were killed in Nahr-e-Siraj district in Helmand province on Sunday.