Afghan troops retake northeastern district from Taliban
Afghan forces have regained control of a district in the northeastern province of Badakhshan from Taliban militants following intense clashes with the militants there, Press TV reports.
Colonel Sakhi Dad Haidari, a deputy provincial police chief, said Afghan troopers wrested control of the Yamgan district, which lies roughly 300 kilometers (186 miles) northeast of the capital, Kabul, at around 7 a.m. local time (0230 GMT) on Sunday.
He did not provide any information about the exact number of possible casualties as a result of the fighting, only saying that several top Taliban commanders were among the slain militants.
However, Badakhshan provincial governor Shah Waliullah Adeeb said 40 Taliban terrorists were killed in the fierce battles and many sustained injuries. He further said that three Afghan soldiers also lost their lives.
The Taliban had taken control of Yamgan district on June 6 after intense fighting with Afghan government forces.
The development comes less than a day after Taliban seized control of the Chardara district in Afghanistan’s northeastern province of Kunduz following an hours-long exchange of fire with Afghan security forces.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that 26 militants were killed and tens of others injured in a series of operations carried out in the provinces of Farah, Helmand and Logar over the past 24 hours.
The statement added that seven Afghan soldiers were also killed during the offensives. Afghan soldiers also confiscated light and heavy weapons, defusing 17 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as well.
Afghanistan is gripped by insecurity years after the United States and its allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.
Even though the invasion overthrew the Taliban, many areas across Afghanistan still face violence.
MP/MKA/HJL
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