Afghan forces ‘lose control of parts of Helmand province’ to Taliban

Meantime, the Taliban in an online statement appreciated the performances of its fighters in Helmand province, saying defeating security forces and overrunning districts in Helmand in winter gives the message of having a good spring.

The Afghan forces staged the counterattack Wednesday evening, while the USA carried out air strikes, the BBC News says. The troops were killed Monday when an attacker rammed an explosives-laden motorcycle into their patrol. Sangin is the deadliest place for US forces in the deadliest province of Afghanistan.

This was denied by the Afghan defence ministry, who said fighting was continuing and that reinforcements had been sent.

“Food, military equipment and ammunition have been dropped to the besieged Afghan security forces fighting against the Taliban to prevent a full fall of Sangin”, Satanikzai said.

Sangin is an important prize for the Taliban as it sits on crucial smuggling routes for drugs, arms and other contraband which fund the insurgency.

Instead, British troops, which are part of the UKs delegation to the United Nations Resolute Support Mission, were sent to the district of Sangin to help the Afghan forces. “These factors complicate the battle for Sangin”.

“They recaptured the district and police headquarters and the wounded were evacuated”.

Helmand’s deputy governor Mohammad Jan Rasulyar said that the situation in the town was unclear but acknowledged that the position was desperate.

All UK and USA combat operations were withdrawn from Helmand province, in which the Sangin district is located, in October 2014.

“We need help, we can’t hold them for much longer”, Zamarai said. “It’s not that we are afraid of death, but we didn’t think that our brothers would leave us like this”.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military advisers, including around 10 British troops, have been deployed to support Afghan forces battling to hold the town. The return of British troops is poignant, as they suffered more than 100 of their 456 fatalities during Britain’s 13-year Afghanistan combat mission in Sangin. Approximately 9,800 United States troops remain in the country and are involved in training or advisory roles.

Districts across Helmand have been threatened by the Taliban in recent months.

Sangin residents have been fleeing as the fighting worsened.

Government forces have complained bitterly about being left without adequate supplies and reinforcements as well as with none of the air power that backed up North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces when they fought in the region. “We have not seen any help”, he said.

Political analyst Waheed Muzhda, formerly an official in the Taliban’s 1996-2001 administration, said the Taliban needed to sort out its leadership problems before it started talking about the peace process.