Afghan forces regain control of key district in Takhar
Afghan security forces have managed to regain control of a strategic district in the northeastern province of Takhar some three months after it fell into the hands of Taliban militants, officials say.
The Afghan forces on Sunday seized back Darqad district of Takhar, located on the border with Tajikistan, after fierce clashes with the militants operating there, Afghanistan’s Tolonews quoted security officials as saying.
According to Afghan police sources, at least 17 Taliban militants, including Darqad’s shadow governor, have been killed since the operations to recapture the district started on Friday.
The Afghan Interior Ministry said the army troops suffered no casualties during the process.
On October 28, 2015, Atiq Haideri, the provincial deputy police chief, said Taliban militants overran Darqad. He confirmed the withdrawal of government forces from the district, without providing any information on potential casualties among security forces.
At the time of the Taliban raid, Takhar was reeling from a powerful earthquake that had struck broad swathes of northern Afghanistan and Pakistan earlier in the month and killed over 300 people there.
The latest developments come as in recent months, Taliban militants have intensified their campaign in several parts of Afghanistan, including the northern province of Kunduz, located west of Takhar.
Afghanistan is gripped by insecurity 14 years after the United States and its allies attacked the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.
The war removed the Taliban from power, but the militants are continuing their deadly attacks across the war-torn country.
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