At least 190 Afghan soldiers were killed and 16 others were killed as a result of clashes with the Taliban in the Murghab district during the last week, according to officials quoted by NYT.
“The Taliban carried out the biggest known capture of Afghan soldiers of the war, taking 150 prisoners after they chased units into neighboring Turkmenistan and that country forced them back, Afghan officials said on Sunday.
The operation took place in the northwestern Afghan province of Badghis, and brought to 190 the number of soldiers captured by insurgents in the hotly contested district of Murghab — with 16 more soldiers killed — in less than a week.
Last Monday, an entire Afghan Army company was killed or captured there. By Saturday, its defenders said the district had fallen mostly into Taliban control, though Afghan forces were still holding the district’s government center.
The latest capture was perhaps the biggest setback for the Afghan security forces since a Taliban offensive in August in the southeastern city of Ghazni killed as many as 200 soldiers and police officers, but few prisoners were taken then. The biggest recent capture of soldiers by the Taliban was about 50 who surrendered after a siege of their base, known as Chinese Camp, in Faryab Province, also in August.”
Despite ongoing negotiations with the US, the Taliban continues its military operations against Kabul forces across the country. These operations will not likely be halted until a comprehensive agreement on the conflict settlement are reached.
Taking into account that one of the key Taliban demands is the US forces withdrawal from the country, the implementation of such an agreement looks unlikely in the nearest future.
A brief overview of the recent developments in Afghanistan:
- The Taliban captured 190 pro-government fighters in the Murghab district during the last week;
- 58 pro-government fighters, who fled clashes with the Taliban to Turmenistan, returned to Afghanistan via the Torghundi area;
- The Taliban claims that 2 US soldiers were killed in the Chahar Darah district of Kunduz province. No evidence was provided to confirm these claims;
- The Taliban reportedly shot down a US recognisance UAV in the Bagram district, Parwan province;
- 4 pro-government fighters were reportedly killed and a vehicle was destroyed in the Gerishk district.
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US is involve and giving logistic support to Taliban . bcuz they have made deal with Taliban to take over afgan territory in return of cetain deals like opium and drugs and may be some other natural resource which is important to US . and also not to attackUS bases
US and allies involvement in this country has stopped long ago thats why the Taliban rose from the dead …again. The blood tribute was high and the gains werent worth it. so now US tries to make a discent withdrawal from Afghanistan avoiding scenes like the ones from the fall of Saigon. That alone makes the Taliban more aggressive. No air support mentioned anywere for months now. If the coalition wanted the Taliban would be hiding in the mountains and not fighting in the open. seems that noone cares for Afghanistan anymore……A terrorist state is taking its form slowly but with steady pace.