The Taliban have carried out two suicide car bombings at an army base in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province, setting of several hours of fighting and killing at least 43 soldiers, the defense ministry and an Afghan official said Thursday.

“A group of insurgents attacked an army base in Chashmo area of Maiwand district in Kandahar province,” the defense ministry said in a statement, adding nine soldiers were wounded and six are unaccounted for.

Khalid Pashtun, a member of parliament from the province, also provided the same toll from the attack, which began late Wednesday.

The Taliban claimed the attack in a media statement.

Afghan forces have struggled to combat a resurgent Taliban since the US and NATO forces formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014. They have also suffered shocking casualties over the past year.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a Taliban ambush in the northern Balkh province late Wednesday killed six police, according to Shir Jan Durani, spokesman for the provincial police chief.

Meanwhile, the death toll from two suicide and gun attacks on Afghan security forces in southeast Afghanistan has risen to 80 with nearly 300 wounded, officials said Wednesday.