At least “71 Taliban” were killed fighting in Nawa and Nahr-e-Saraj districts of Helmand province, said Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior (MoI), on Monday.
However, Arian did not provide further details about the possible Afghan security forces casualties in the clashes.
Also on Monday, a power substation in Helmand was damaged in ongoing fighting in the province, cutting electric power to Kandahar and Helmand, said the provincial head of DABS, Wahidullah Alizai.
Alizai said employees of the substation have been taken captive by the Taliban.
On Sunday night, A military operation involving commandos and air support was carried out in various parts of Helmand province, including the Babaji area and Nad Ali district, said the provincial governor’s office.
A member of the provincial council of Helmand said that a number of the security checkpoints around Lashkargah city, capital of the province, have fallen to the Taliban.
The Taliban’s designated deputy governor for Helmand, Mawlawi Ghafoor, who reportedly led the recent fighting against govt forces in the province, was arrested by security forces in Nahr-e- Saraj district on Sunday evening, said the Helmand governor’s office.
The Helmand governor’s office said that Mawlawi Ghafoor was among those prisoners recently released by the Afghan govt as part of the peace process.
On Sunday, heavy clashes occurred on the outskirts of Lashkargah, resulting in the fall of city police district 4 to the Taliban, according a member of the provincial council. Local officials, however, said it was a tactical retreat.
The head of Helmand’s provincial council, Ataullah Afghan, said that some parts of Highway 601—that connects Lashkargah with Kandahar province—also fell to militants.
The highway has remained closed to traffic for the last three days following clashes, according to officials and TOLOnews’ Abdullah Hamim.
Other areas that have witnessed clashes between the Afghan forces and the Taliban over the last three days include the Chah Anjir area of Lashkargah and Nad Ali district.
This comes amid the ongoing peace negotiations in Doha. Violence has increased recently amid calls by Afghan and foreign officials for an immediate reduction in violence in the country.
