Two Districts Fall to Taliban in North as Clashes Continue

The centers of two districts in northern Afghanistan have fallen to the Taliban following clashes in the last 12 hours with sources reporting high casualties among Afghan forces in Jawzjan province.

Amruddin Danishjo, the deputy head of the Jawzjan provincial council, said the center of the Mardian district in Jawzjan fell to the Taliban on Saturday morning.

He said that at least 16 security force members were killed and 14 more captured by the Taliban in clashes in the district.

Officials in Jawzjan have not commented on the fall of the district to the Taliban.

Meanwhile, Abdul Ahad Ail Bek, a member of the Faryab provincial council, said that the center of Khwaja Sabz Posh district in Faryab fell to the Taliban on Friday night.

He said that Gul Ekhtiar Arab, a security forces commander in Faryab, has surrendered to the Taliban with his personnel after they did not receive support.

Faryab officials have not commented on the report.

This comes as the 209 Shaheen Corps in a statement on Saturday said that Mawlawi Sunnatullah, head of Taliban’s military commission, and eight others were killed in the Afghan Army’s operation in Qosh Tepa district in Jawzjan on Friday.

Sources have said that more than 30 districts have fallen to the Taliban in the last two months. The Defense Ministry reported clashes in 13 provinces on Friday.