TALOQAN (Pajhwok): At least 67 Taliban militants have been killed and another 41 wounded during clashes with security forces in Khwaja Bahauddin district of northeastern Takhar province, police claimed on Thursday.
Takhar police chief Brig. Gen. Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani told Pajhwok Afghan News the Khwaja Bahauddin district had been cleared of Taliban presences as a result of an ongoing operation there.
He claimed 67 militants were killed including Maulvi Qadir, the Taliban’s deputy governor for Takhar and 41 wounded.
Twenty villages, including Kohna Shakh, Kandaharyan, Alqanaq and Hamza, were cleared of Taliban, he added.
He said efforts at clearing the Khwaja Bahauddin-Darqad highway of landmines were underway.
Farhad, an inhabitant of the locality, said the Taliban had fled from Khwaja Bahauddin to their previous stronghold Qala Bad area.
But Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the claims and said the fighters still controlled Darqad district. He did not go into details about the situation in Khwaja Bahauddin district.
sa/ma
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