Thirty-seven people were killed when Taliban terrorists wearing military uniforms stormed Kandahar airport

Thirty-seven people were killed when Taliban terrorists wearing military uniforms stormed Kandahar airport, triggering pitched gun battles in a lengthy siege as President Ashraf Ghani Wednesday sought to revive peace talks at a regional conference.

Nearly 24 hours after the siege began, one of the 11 assailants was still holding out against security forces late on Wednesday, in the most serious attack on the largest military installation in the south of the country in 14 years of war.

Witnesses said the militants had taken families hostage, using them as "human shields" after storming the sprawling complex, and slowing down the military's clearance operation.