An important district in Afghanistan’s southern poppy-growing province of Helmand has reportedly fallen to Taliban control after heavy fighting that killed or wounded up to 20 police officers.
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On Friday, a USA federal oversight agency reported the Taliban was in direct control of four districts in Helmand.
Fighting that has raged for the past week in the Archi and Qalay-i-Zal districts of Kunduz province is continuing, the governor’s spokesman Mahmood Danish said.
Speaking to VOA on condition of anonymity, Afghan security officials alleged that heavily-armed Taliban insurgents sheltering on the Pakistani side also took part in Thursday night’s assault.
After the fall of Kanashin, major smuggling route for opium, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said government forces have lost part of the territory that was held in January-end.
SIGAR attributed the loss to a NATO-backed change in tactics that saw the redeployment of many Afghan troops from hundreds of checkpoints to free them up for offensive operations against the Taliban.
Security officials were seen setting up an attack post in Sangeen district of Helmand on Friday after gaining ground on Taliban militants through an attack that left at least 30 insurgents dead, an epa journalist reports.
“We have 100 percent accountability”, he said, before cutting the line.
Zwak added that one police personnel was killed and five others including Khanashin district police chief Abdul Rauf were injured in the conflict.
He said that the bomb, which went off at around 9.30am, targeted Afghan security forces who were buying fruit and other supplies for their nearby base.
The official said the government compounds in Nad Ali district have been surrounded by the militants.
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The Taliban have been fighting to overthrow the Kabul government since 2001, when their regime was ousted by the USA invasion.
