Taliban overrun Faryab’s Almar district: Officials

MAIMAN (Pajhwok): Local officials on Thursday said Taliban insurgents had captured the Almar district in northern Faryab province, with 30 security personnel missing, but the defense and interior ministries rejected the claims.

Abdul Manan Qatay, a provincial council member and commander of uprising forces in Faryab, told Pajhwok Afghan News that 20 of total 60 soldiers who had been besieged by the Taliban in the Almar district headquarters since last 21 days had survived but the fate of the rest was unknown.

A security official, who wished to go unnamed, told Pajhwok that the Taliban had taken over the district headquarters amid reports soldiers in the building were shot dead.

However, a local Taliban commander, who wished to go unnamed, told Pajhwok that they took control of the district headquarters, police headquarters and the whole of district center.

He said that they captured 12 soldiers from the district headquarters and all of them were alive.

Pajhwok made several attempts to contact security officials for their comment about the incident, but no one responded.

On the other hand, officials in ministries of defense and interior said that Almar district had not fallen to the Taliban.

Tariq Arian, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, said that claims about the fall of Almar district were baseless and Afghan forces had active presence there.

The Ministry of Defense also in a statement rejected claims of the district’s collapse to the Taliban and said Afghan forces had launched an operation in the area and inflicted heavy casualties on insurgents.

The ministry said a security post which was besieged by the Taliban was freed and the district was currently under the control of Afghan forces.

This comes as local officials in Faryab had previously said that dozens of Afghan forces under Taliban siege were in bad condition.

The officials had warned that the soldiers might be lost or surrender to the Taliban if the government did not pay attention to the matter.

mds/ma