Target were foreign nationals: Taliban attack Kandahar airport, 37 dead and 35 wounded

At least 37 people were killed and 35 wounded in a Taliban attack and siege of Kandahar airport in southern Afghanistan, the Afghan Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday, according to the Patria news agency.

Of the 11 attackers, only one is still resisting Afghan forces, according to the ministry.

„Nine insurgents were killed, one was wounded and one is still fighting our forces," the ministry said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, during the fighting, 37 innocent Afghans were killed and 35 wounded," it added, without specifying how many were civilians.

Residents said they heard soldiers pleading with the insurgents to let women and children go during the fierce fighting.

A security official said the attackers used civilians as human shields, which made the counterattack difficult.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bold offensive, launched on Tuesday evening at the large airport complex, which besides a civilian residential zone also houses a NATO base and Afghan troops. Their target were foreign nationals.

Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, located about 480 kilometres southwest of Kabul.