...

Taliban kills dozens of Afghan forces in 2-day siege

Other News Materials 5 April 2019 23:08 (UTC +04:00)
Afghan officials say a massive Taliban siege of a government compound and army base in western Badghis province, now in its second day, has killed at least 12 more troops
Taliban kills dozens of Afghan forces in 2-day siege

Afghan officials say a massive Taliban siege of a government compound and army base in western Badghis province, now in its second day, has killed at least 12 more troops, Trend reported citing Al Jazeera.

Friday's fatalities bring the overall casualty toll for the assault in the district of Bala Murghab to at least 32.

Many more have been wounded and the area is cut off.

Mohammad Nasir Nazari, a provincial council member, said that according to soldiers inside the base, roughly 2,000 Taliban fighters are involved in the attack.

He said there are about 600 Afghan troops and members of the security forces inside and they are running out of ammunition, water and food.

Abdul Waris Sherzad, a district chief, said the locals are disappointed that NATO forces and the Afghan government have not helped, an assertion the defence ministry disputes.

Sherzad said in a statement on Thursday the Taliban had killed 36 members of the government forces and captured several security checkpoints in attacks that began on Wednesday night.

More than 30 Taliban fighters were also killed, according to Jamshed Shahabi, spokesman for Badghis' provincial governor.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the group attacked from four directions, capturing five checkpoints.

Afghanistan's defence ministry, in a series of tweets, said its forces chose to "tactically retreat" from the checkpoints to prevent civilian casualties.

The ministry said it called in multiple air attacks on Taliban positions and had airlifted reinforcements and supplies to Badghis.

On Friday the defence ministry said Afghan forces had forced the Taliban to retreat from some checkpoints and that all key areas remained under its control.

Tags:
Latest

Latest