In response to the militants mounting assaults, Afghan forces on Sunday killed more than 50 insurgents in past 24 hours.

The Afghan national defense and security forces killed 27 insurgents, including their leader Qari Hafiz and wounded 19 others in the northern Kunduz province in “active defense”, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It added 12 more insurgents were killed and 14 wounded in Kandahar, eight others were killed and seven wounded in Helmand and five killed and six captured in Zabul. All are southern provinces.

In past two days, the insurgents staged coordinated assaults in Zabul, Baghlan and Kapisa provinces, killing at least 40 Afghan forces. The attacks came after a relative reduction in violence in line with the rejuvenated yet fragile peace process.

Condemning the attacks, President Mohammed Ashraf Ghani said it shows the militants reluctance to commit to peace.