At least 35 construction workers have been shot dead and 20 injured by Taliban insurgents in eastern Afghanistan, an official says.
Eight insurgents were also killed as guards returned fire during Wednesday night's ambush, a Paktia provincial spokesman told the BBC.
The attack took place in a mountainous district on the highway linking Paktia and Khost provinces.
The Taliban recently declared the start of a "spring offensive" of attacks.
"A large group of Taliban attacked a road construction company in Paktia province," Paktia provincial spokesman Rohullah Samoon is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.
"The fighting between the company guards and Taliban attackers continued for two hours."
The men were attacked in a roadside camp next to the highway they were working on.
Road workers are frequently targeted by Taliban militants. Last December gunmen kidnapped four Turkish road workers and their local driver in Paktia.
In remote areas of Afghanistan, the Taliban and other insurgents often tax construction companies.
In some areas it is said to be impossible to carry out work without paying bribes to local commanders.
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville says the United States has been trying to stop development money falling into the hands of militant groups, particularly the Pakistan-based Haqqani militant network.
It has close ties to al-Qaeda, as well as the Taliban, and is known to operate in the area of Paktia.
This is the deadliest single attack by the Taliban in Afghanistan since February when militants killed 42 people in an attack on a bank in Jalalabad.
This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-south-asia-12859952
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