HERAT: The Taliban have captured 58 Afghan border soldiers, the defence ministry said on Mon­day, after days of fighting which saw dozens of troops briefly chased into neighbouring Turkmenistan.

The ministry statement came after reports of days of fighting in Bala Marghab district of Badghis province.

“Unfortunately, 58 BSS (border security soldiers) are captured by the enemies,” a defence ministry tweet said on Monday, adding “Search Ops will continue until we release them”.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2019