AT LEAST two people were killed as unidentified gunmen attacked a convoy of Taliban forces in western Afghanistan yesterday with several others injured. 

Two students and 18 civilians were among those injured according to eyewitness reports. One of the attackers was killed while two escaped, local sources in Herat City said. 

But Afghanistan’s Tolo news agency said that two soldiers were killed and more than 20 injured with just one of the vehicles targeted in the attack. 

Police spokesman Shah Rassoul said that the vehicle that came under fire was carrying the Taliban 207 Al-Farooq Corps members. 

The Islamists returned to power last August, prompting a scrambled flight from Afghanistan by the US and other occupying forces following 20 years of war. 

The country is facing a severe humanitarian crisis which has worsened due to a devastating earthquake last month. 

Despite the United Nations warning that more than one million children face severe malnourishment, the United States is refusing to return $7 billion (£5.7bn) it has stolen from the Afghan people. 

It seized the assets after its chaotic withdrawal and had planned to distribute it among families of the victims and survivors of the September 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.