Afghan forces on offensive mode after attacks

Afghanistan's president on Tuesday ordered the country's security forces to move to offensive mode, hours after three separate attacks killed over 40 people.

"I order all the Afghan security and defence forces to come out of defensive mode back to offensive and start their operations against the enemy," Ashraf Ghani said in a televised speech.

The most deadly attack was in eastern Nangarhar province where a suicide bomber targeted a funeral ceremony, killing 24 people and wounding 68.

In the capital Kabul, militants stormed a maternity hospital, leading to the deaths of 16 people, including two newborn babies and their mothers.

And in eastern Khost province, a bomb planted in a cart in a market killed a child and wounded 10 people.

The violence could further undermine a peace process in the wake of a deal signed between the United States and the Taliban in February.