100 Taliban killed in battle for Helmand districts: officials

Published June 26, 2014
Nato troops, Afghan security forces at the site of burning Nato trucks after an attack by militants in the Nangarhar Province last week. File photo by Reuters
Nato troops, Afghan security forces at the site of burning Nato trucks after an attack by militants in the Nangarhar Province last week. File photo by Reuters

KANDAHAR: More than 800 Taliban militants have launched a major offensive in southern Afghanistan to try to gain territory recently vacated by US troops, officials said on Wednesday, with 40 civilians killed in five days of fighting.

About 100 Taliban have been killed, according to the interior ministry, in clashes that erupted as Afghanistan wrestled with a political crisis over alleged fraud in the June 14 election to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai.

The assault highlights the challenges facing Afghan security forces battling the Taliban as US-led Nato forces pull out.


Over 800 militants take part in fighting dozens of civilians also dead


Local officials in Helmand province said that 800 militants were involved in attacks centred on the Sangin district of Helmand province, a hotbed of fighting during the 13-year insurgency.

The last US troops pulled out of Sangin only last month, handing over their remaining bases to Afghan soldiers and police who have now taken on full responsibility for fighting the militants.

“About 800 fighters began to storm four districts of Helmand last Thursday night,” Helmand provincial governor spokesman Omar Zwak said. “At least 21 Afghan forces have died and close to 40 civilians were killed.”

A government official in Kabul confirmed the figure of 800 Taliban fighters.

Zwak said reinforcements had been sent to repel the attacks in Sangin, Nowzad, Kajaki and Musa Qala districts, where 2,000 families have fled the violence.

The threat of a Taliban revival as Nato combat troops withdraw after more than a decade of war is a major fear for many Afghans, though government and Nato officials insist that the national army and police are increasingly effective.

On Wednesday, the interior ministry confirmed the scale of the fighting in Helmand but insisted that the militants were being beaten back.

“There was a major attack by the Taliban and their supporters,” ministry spokesman Siddiq Siddiqi said. “We have reports of a lot of enemy attackers over the last few days.


Know more: Nato base in Afghanistan was attacked by Taliban


“We are reinforcing Afghan national security forces and have suffered no major loss of territory. About 100 Taliban have been killed so far.”

Siddiqi said that 18 policemen were killed on Tuesday.

Local officials said the Taliban had launched overnight attacks on police checkpoints, and that power from the Kajaki dam to Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, and to Kandahar city had been cut, causing long outages.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2014

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.