Around 20 security forces were killed and some wounded after the Taliban militants stormed three district centers in northern Kunduz and western Farah provinces, local sources confirmed.
Shah Mahmoud Naemi, deputy chief of Farah Provincial Council, confirmed to Kabul Now that the government forces lost control over Lash wa Juwayn district in the southwestern Farah province after nearly 300 militants stormed the district’s center with 80 vehicles on Saturday evening, June 12.
All army bases have fallen to the Taliban. Nearly 110 security and defense forces who were stationed in the district resisted against the Taliban attacks until 10:30 AM today, June13, but the connection with district’s police headquarter has been lost since then, the local official detailed.
Moreover, he added that the militants have also launched attacks on Pusht Rod district of the province since last night but the district is still under the control of government forces. The local official confirmed that the Taliban militants have overrun a security outpost of the district and killed five security forces.
This comes as the province’s newly appointed governor, Masoud Bakhtawar, took office today, Sunday, June 13, and chaired the meeting of Farah’s Military Council.
Lash wa Juwayn is 90 kilometers away from Farah and shares border with Iran and Pusht Rod is 20 kilometers away from the provincial capital. The two districts are volatile, where the Taliban militants operate actively.
In the northern Kunduz province, Mohammad Yousuf Ayoubi, chief of Kunduz Provincial Council, confirmed that the Taliban have overrun a military outpost providing security for main bazar of Aliabad district. As many as 15 security forces were killed and some others wounded in clashes against the militants, the local official detailed.
Inamuddin Rahmani, spokesperson for Kunduz police, however, rejected the Taliban’s takeover of the outpost but confirmed that clashes are ongoing against the Taliban militants in the district’s bazar. He added that both sides have suffered casualties but the exact number is not yet clear.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, claimed that the militants have taken over the security outpost and five checkpoints in Ali Abad district of Kunduz province. He also claimed overrunning another military outpost in Khanabad district of the province.
Assadullah Khurram, a member of Sar-e-Pul Provincial Council, had previously confirmed to Kabul Now that the province’s Sozma Qala district fell to the Taliban last Friday, June 11.
With Lash wa Juwayn, Sozma Qala, and Aliabad counted, the total number of districts fallen to the Taliban since May 01, beginning of foreign troop withdrawal, mounts to 18.
The districts fallen to the militant group are namely Nirkh and Jalrez in Maidan Wardak, Burka in Baghlan, Dawlat Shah in Laghman, Gizab in Urozgan, Deh Yak in Ghazni, Shinkai in Zabul, Du Ab and Mandol in Nooristan, Dawlatyar and Qaisar in Faryab, Shahrak and Tulak in Ghor province, Ishkamish in Takhar, Zari in Balkh province, Sozma Qala in Sar-e-Pul, Aliabad in Kunduz, and Lash wa Juwayn district in Farah.
