Taliban take district headquarters in remote north

Taliban insurgents reportedly seized control of as many as 80 villages on Monday night in northern Kunduz province, local officials said on Tuesday, Armenpress reports, citing TOLO News.

A police commander in the Kohistanat district and several of his men were reportedly forced to surrender as well, and, much like the assault in Badakhshan, officials say the remote location of the district contributed to its fall.

The police base, in the province’s Wardoj district, had been cut off as heavy rains destroyed roads into the area, said Gen Baba Jan, Badakhshan province’s police chief.

Such incidents typically see a dramatic rise during the spring, when the Taliban renew their annual offensive, but there has been a notable increase in Taliban attacks on police and other security forces since a majority of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces left Afghanistan in December 2014.

Earlier this week, they made a successful push towards a strategic pass at the border with Pakistan, capturing a large police base in Badakhshan province in the northeastern corner of the mountainous country.

Last month, hundreds of insurgents attacked security checkpoints in the province’s Yamgan district, forcing police to abandon them.

In the meantime, the Taliban militants group claimed that heavy casualties were incurred to the Afghan forces during the gun battle and said only 3 Taliban fighters were killed and 4 others were injured. He said it was unclear why the forces surrendered, insisting they has enough ammunition and supplies to hold out for weeks.

Police planned to retake the district, he said.

In northern Baghlan province, 11 people were kidnapped Saturday after gunmen stopped their vehicle in Dahna-i Ghori district, said Gen. Abdul Jabar Perdili, the provincial police chief.