The Afghan national security forces have retaken control of Darqad district in northeastern Takhar province of Afghanistan three months after it fell to Taliban control.
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Taliban militants who overrun the strategically important Darqad district along the border with Tajikistan in mid October 2015 rebuffed government claim on taking ground in Darqad district on Saturday, and have yet to comment on the recapturing the district by government forces.
The cleanup operation continues against armed insurgents in insecure villages of Darqad district, the statement added.
Afghan National Security Forces conducted an operation on Friday to clear Taliban from the area.
The Taliban’s capture of Darqad had stoked fears that militant violence could spill over to the Central Asian states.
Police, backed by the Afghan army, started the operation around 2 a.m. (local time) and it will last till militants are evicted, Xinhua quoted police spokesman Abdul Khalil Asir as saying.
Provincial police chief Noor Mohammad Hakimi told Anadolu Agency by phone that security forces had recovered a number of armored vehicles and weapons that the Taliban captured some 75 days ago. The statement said seven soldiers were killed during the crackdown against the insurgents.
Afghan troops and police have been struggling to contain the Taliban insurgency since US-led foreign troops ceased combat operations at the end of 2014.
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The reported victory by Afghan national security forces follows earlier failures to defend strategic districts and towns in the country’s southern Helmand province.
