Afghan official: Taliban seize district headquarters in west

The Taliban overran a district headquarters in Afghanistan’s western Farah province early on Monday, killing and wounding at least 15 members of the security forces, a provincial official said.

According to Fared Bakhtawer, the head of provincial council, the Taliban attacked the Anardara district police and administrative offices from different directions early in the morning.

The initial information gave no breakdown of the casualties and the fighting there was still underway, he said.

“The Anardara district headquarters is under the insurgents’ control and right now, an intense battle is going on all around the district center and government offices,” said Bakhtawer.

The Taliban promptly claimed responsibility, with Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi saying in a statement to the media that the group was behind the attack.

The insurgents have recently stepped up attacks against Afghan security forces across Farah province. Over the weekend, a Taliban attack killed seven army commandos and eight policemen in Bala Buluk district.

In a separate report, seven civilians — including three children and two women — were killed on Sunday night in eastern Nangarhar province when their vehicle was hit by a grenade, said Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor.

Khogyani said two other people in the vehicle were wounded in the attack in Bati Kot district. The victims are all members of a single family, he added.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in eastern Afghanistan, particularly in Nangarhar province.