KANDAHAR, June 1: Taliban-led rebels were still in control of a district in southern Afghanistan Thursday more than 24 hours after forcing out government troops, a military general said.

Scores of Taliban militants stormed Chora district of southern Uruzgan province late Tuesday, overrunning the police and district headquarters.

Security forces fled the district after resisting the rebels for several hours overnight.

The military was making plans with the US-led coalition and police to retake the district, said General Rahmatullah Raufi, military commander for southern Afghanistan.

“The district is out of our hands,” the general said. “We’re working on plans to retake the district.”

No security force members had been hurt in the encounter, Raufi said, after a purported Taliban spokesman had claimed several Afghan policemen were killed. However the district headquarters and some government vehicles had been set ablaze, the general said.

This is the first time however that a government official has admitted they have been in control of an area for more than a few hours.

Afghanistan’s remote districts are notoriously under-policed with several functioning with little or no government presence.

The government is trying to extend its authority into these lawless areas with the help of a Nato-led force of troops that is tasked with establishing stability and facilitating reconstruction.

A separate coalition led by the US has for more than four years been helping Afghan security forces to root out Taliban forces.—AFP