Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Fighting between the Afghan government forces and the Taliban continued in different parts of Afghanistan as government forces on Tuesday claimed to have pushed Taliban out of Lashkar Gah and in some parts of Kunduz.

The Taliban forces had stormed Lashkar Gah, the capital city of Helmand province in the south of Afghanistan. The militia claimed to have taken control of Bolan and Basharan areas late on Monday as videos shared on social media showed Taliban fighters onboard armoured vehicles that they claimed to have captured from the government security forces after their surrender.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi told an Afghan daily that their fighters had taken control of 11 security check posts and that they were closing in on the security forces inside the besieged city of Lashkar Gah. “Eleven Afghan security personnel were killed in the fighting during the capture of the two areas in Lashkar Gah,” Qari Yousaf was quoted as saying.

The claims were also confirmed by Taliban commander Mullah Manan, who said that their forces were fighting inside the city. However, the government forces and local eyewitnesses in Lashkar Gah on Tuesday claimed that though the Taliban had entered the city, they were forced out of it by the security forces after fierce fighting.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sadiq Sadeequi informed the media that the Taliban had attacked security checkposts inside Lashkar Gah city but the forces were able to push them out of the city. Similarly, Helmand Provisional Shura secretary Abdul Majeed Achakzai said that the Taliban had entered the city by breaking the security cordon. “The Taliban had to retreat after the government forces pushed them back in the fighting,” he said.

In another development, at least 300 Afghan special services personnel were sent to the besieged city to assist the government forces in fighting against the Taliban who were still stationed on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah. The Afghan government’s Special Envoy in Helmand Abdul Jabbar Qaharman told media that the commandoes were sent to Lashkar Gah to stop the Taliban advancements. At least 15 civilians were killed and many more were injured in Lashkar Gah when an explosive device planted in a car went off in a busy area inside the city. An international emergency hospital in the city said that the death toll could rise as many injured persons were in critical condition.

The bomb exploded shortly after the Taliban militants were pushed out of the city late on Monday. Meanwhile, in the north, government forces in Kunduz have recaptured some key locations from the Taliban militants after they pushed the militiamen out of their positions. Locals in Kunduz said that government forces had defeated the Taliban in some key positions that were under the Taliban control for the last eight days.

“Many people have returned to their homes after a week as they feared the Taliban fighters. Now that the government forces have returned in power, we are seeing people coming back to their homes after eight days,” said a resident of Kunduz city.

“Spinzar, Khan Abad, Imam Sahib and Kabul Bandar areas are still not fully peaceful as the Taliban are still present there. However, the roundabout at Nashir Cinema, near Khan Abad is cleared off the Taliban,” the local added. Meanwhile, some locals still believe that the Taliban presented a threat to the security of Kunduz as they had only stepped back few hundred meters from the centre of the city and could return to attack at any time. Furthermore, the Taliban fighters have also entered Farah city where reports suggest that they were engaged in fighting with the government troops at different locations.