A local Taliban commander and 50 fighters have been killed in overnight fighting in Sangin in Helmand province, the Afghan interior ministry says, according to BBC News.
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The soldiers were targeted as they moved through a village near Bagram Airfield, the largest USA military facility in Afghanistan, NATO and Afghan officials said.
Mohammad says Afghan reinforcements have arrived in Sangin, backed by special operations forces that were dispatched earlier in the week. “The Taliban are in control of the district”, a source said.
President Ashraf Ghani’s awkward National Unity Government, formed after last year’s inconclusive election, has left key positions unfilled or allowed local politicians to dictate security appointments. “Americans want to keep their forces here”. “In only one year, we took over responsibility”, he told a news conference in Kabul this week.
“Sangin became fairly totemic for the British because of the number of soldiers lost”, he said. “Parts of Sangin are under the Taliban control but not the police and military installations”, he said.
All but two of Helmand’s 14 districts are effectively controlled or heavily contested by the Taliban, who also recently came close to overrunning the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.
Strategically located, and a centre for opium production, Sangin would be a significant gain for the Taliban.
“This is probably the worst of the scenarios that the British had in 2013 and 2014”.
“The Taliban have made big advances in Helmand province in summer and into the winter and the offensive is increasing”, he said.
He warned that all of Helmand could fall to the Taliban if the President didn’t take action.
“The Sangin district bazaar has been closed down and the Taliban are present there”, explained Rahmat Ullah who fled the town.
In Washington, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the nation’s thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and their loved ones, and that the USA will continue to work jointly with Afghans to promote peace and stability in their country.
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“They’re fine as long as they’re being assisted and they’re being provided air cover and things like that by Western forces”.
