The Sayedabad district police chief has been killed in a Taliban attack in central Maidan Wardak province, an official said on Sunday.
Sharifullah Hotak, a member of the provincial council, told Pajhwok Afghan News that hundreds of militants stormed the district center late on Saturday night.
He said the district center fell to rebels, who left later on. Several policemen, including the district police head, were killed in the overnight clash, Hotak added.
But Abdul Rahman Mangal, the governor’s spokesman, denied the fall of the district center. He believed both sides suffered casualties during the firefight.
He, however, was unaware of the death of the police chief.
Meanwhile, police spokesman Hikmatullah Durrani said reinforcements had arrived in the district. He confirmed the killing of the police chief Syed Zarab Shah Hashimi.
He said the Kabul-Kandahar highway reopened after several hours of closure.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed capturing the district center, police headquarters and several check-posts during the overnight assault.
Meanwhile, power supply to four provinces has been cut off due to the clashes, the power utility said on Sunday
Da Breshna Shirkat Department said in a statement electricity supply to Paktia, Maidan Wardak, Ghazni and Logar provinces was snapped due to the firefight in between the security forces and Taliban in Sayedabad.
The power utility said it was striving to dispatch engineers and necessary technical equipment to the site for repair soon after permission is granted.
Asif Niazi, the Breshna Shirkat head for Paktia province, confirmed to Pajhwok Afghan News the electricity imported from Central Asia had been off since 6:30am, Sunday.
“When we informed central authorities; we were told fighting is going on in Maidan Wardak. As a consequence, the electricity supply has been suspended,” Niazi said, adding 2,500 families had been deprived of the facility in Paktia.
In the past, too, electricity supply has been cut off due to clashes. The supply remained disconnected for months in at least one instance.
