Afghan defense and security forces have launched 278 joint, independent, air and special operations in seven provinces of the country killing as many as 2,367 Taliban militants, said Ajmal Omar Shinwari, spokesperson for the Afghan armed forces. He added that 1,412 militants were wounded.
The official, however, did not specify whether these operations took months or weeks.
Security forces have detained 182 people, including eight members of the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP), and defused 165 landmines planted by the Taliban militants, he added.
According to him, the Taliban have recently carried out five suicide bombings and 70 bomb explosions, killing 43 civilians and wounding 170 others.
On the other hand, acting minister of defense, Bismillah Mohammadi, said Afghanistan is passing a “difficult military” phase.
Rohullah Ahmadzai, spokesman for the ministry, quoted Mohammadi as saying the intensity of war in the country is comprehensible and this is not the first time for Afghan people to go through a “difficult military” phase.
He assured the people the Afghan forces and the people’s mobilized militias will defend the country with all the equipment facilities at their disposal under any circumstances, Ahmadzai wrote on his Facebook on Wednesday, July 07.
Nearly a hundred districts have fallen to the Taliban over past two months. Of the fallen districts, the government officials have announced that 14 districts have been retaken and military operations will be launched to regain control over others as well.
The Taliban, however, claimed capturing more than 150 districts over the past two months.
The government officials rejected it saying the security and defense forces have relocated from a number of districts which do not consider a fall.
In a meeting with regional ambassadors in Kabul yesterday, July 06, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, foreign minister, confirmed the Afghan government have lost more than 80 districts in recent weeks.
