Taliban capture Badakhshan district, killing 10

The Yamgan district of Badakhshan province collapsed to the Taliban militants Saturday morning, a provincial council member claimed.

Ahmad Jawid Mujaddadi, a member of the provincial council told Ariana News that the insurgents captured the district after several hours of heavy clashes with the Afghan security forces at around 11 a.m. Saturday.

Last year, Afghan security forces had cleared the district from the presence of the insurgents after four years.

Mujaddadi said the militants stormed the district after they captured four security outposts in Jurm district of the province, killing at least 10 security forces and wounding three more.

He further said at least 17 Afghan troopers were missing in Jurm, while the Afghan forces – public uprising and local police – have retreated from Yamgan to the Kiran-o-Manjan district of the province.

The local officials, however, denied the collapse of the district, saying at the moment heavy clashes are underway in the center of Yamgan.

In a separate incident, the Taliban fighters Friday night attacked the Mardyan district of northern Jawzjan province and faced resistance by the Afghan security forces.

Marouf Azar, a spokesman for the provincial governor told Ariana News that at least eight militants including a Taliban commander were killed and five others wounded in the clashes.

Azar added that three policemen were killed and two more were injured in shoot exchange.

In Kunduz province, the insurgents stormed a military base in the Pul-e-Safid area of Kunduz city at around 11 Saturday morning.

The Taliban fled the area after an hour of the clash with Afghan forces, in which at least three militants were killed and three others wounded.

The Taliban yet to comment on the incidents.