Afghan forces reclaim northern district from Taliban

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - Afghan security forces claimed to have recaptured a strategically important northern district from the Taliban on Thursday amid deadly clashes on multiple fronts across the country.

Two weeks ago, the Taliban overran the Zebak district in the Badakhshan province, which borders Tajikistan and China.

Local authorities acknowledged the development, but the central government in Kabul was not confirming.

On Thursday, however, it announced that this district in northeastern Afghanistan had been reclaimed from the militants after 13 days of fighting.

Gen. Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said in a statement that the Taliban insurgents had managed to capture key government installations following a group attack on April 28.

“The security forces have been able to retake the district with a complete coordination,” said Waziri.

Faisal Baigzad, governor of the province, told Anadolu Agency that up to 100 Taliban fighters had either been killed or wounded. “Among those killed are 20 foreign militants”.

The Ministry of Defense has confirmed the death of a total of 35 militants while six security personnel are pronounced dead and 8 other wounded.

Local officials said the Taliban militants had retreated to Warduj and Yamgan districts that remain in their control.

Elsewhere, the Taliban assault on the city of Kunduz city has been thwarted. The capital of the northern Kunduz province bordering Tajikistan, had briefly fallen twice to the Taliban in the past two years.

According to the provincial directorate of refugees and repatriation, the surge in violence has forced at least 4,000 more families to flee home.

Safe estimates by the UN in Afghanistan suggest the ongoing violence has forced 67,850 families to leave their homes, and move to relatively safer parts of the country.