Taliban fighters during “Operation al-Khandagh”
On September 13, Taliban fighters attacked a base of the Afghan National Army (ANA) in the district of Pusht Rod in the western province of Farah, according to the Taliban news agency Voice of Jihad. The Afghan group claimed that its fighters killed ten soldiers, injured four others and destroyed an armored vehicle of the ANA.
A second attack by Taliban fighters targeted a checkpoint of the ANA and the Afghan National Police (ANP) in the district of Farah Rod. Voice of Jihad said that five personnel of the ANA and the ANP were killed and seven others were injured as a result of the attack.
According to the Associated Press (AP), provincial council chief Farid Bakhtawar in Farah acknowledged that the Taliban killed 12 personnel of the ANA and the ANP during several attacks in the province.
The Taliban said that both attacks were a part of the its spring offensive, codenamed “Operation al-Khandagh”, which was launched on April 25, in response to Washington’s decision to increase the US military presence in Afghanistan.
Last week, the Afghan group injured and killed 14 Afghan soldiers in a coordinated attack on the district center of Parchama. This new wave of attacks confirms that the Taliban is, once again, working to expand in Farah.
