LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): More than 60 Taliban have been killed and 40 others wounded during an operation in the Nawa district of southern Helmand province, officials claimed on Tuesday.
Provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Abdul Ghafar Safi, told a press conference in Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand, the operation in Nawa had achieved the desired results.
He said the aim of the operation was to pave the ground for better security. Safi added 62 militants were killed and 40 others wounded during the offensive.
Besides Afghan forces, foreign troops also took part in the ground and air assault, in which many Taliban hideouts and weapons were destroyed, the police chief continued.
He said more operations would be launched soon in different parts of Helmand to vanquish the insurgents.
On the other hand, a local security official revealed the Taliban had gathered in the district to plan a huge attack on Lashkargah.
But Afghan and foreign forces attacked the rebels before they launched an assault on the provincial capital and a large number of the militants suffered casualties.
The Taliban confirmed the operation, with the group’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claiming nine security personnel and only two fighters had been killed.
He said the Taliban had defeated Afghan and foreign forces in Nawa and recaptured all areas of Nawa, once the most stable districts of Helmand, which fell to Taliban a year ago.
mds/mud
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