Eleven Taliban fighters attacked an important airport in southern Afghanistan early Tuesday, killing at least 50 people, Afghan officials say.

The Afghan Defense Ministry said 38 civilians, 10 soldiers and two police officers were killed. The attack on the Kandahar Air Field lasted 20 hours, reported the Washington Post. Among the dead were women and children, the newspaper wrote.

The airport includes a military base with troops from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. There were no reports that NATO troops were killed or injured in the attack.

A spokesman for the Taliban says fighters entered the base and attacked local and foreign military troops. He said more than 150 soldiers were killed in the attack. The Taliban often makes claims about the results of their attacks that are not true.

Taliban attacks have grown in number and strength in Afghanistan this year after the withdrawal last year of combat troops from other countries.

I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.

This story was reported by Correspondent Ayaz Gul in Islamabad. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the story into VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.