TALIBAN KILLS AND CAPTURES DOZENS OF AFGHAN SOLDIERS DURING ATTACK IN HERAT

Taliban Special Forces. Illustrative image

On December 8, the Taliban announced that its fighters had killed 14 soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and captured 23 others during a hit and run attack on a military base in the district of Shindand in the northwestern province of Herat.

“12 PKM machine guns, 3 RPG launchers with 80 rounds, 17 rifles, 55000 rounds of rifle, 10000 rounds of PKM, 3 communication radios and a sizable amount of other ammunition were seized during the operation,” the Afghan group’s news agency, Voice of Jihad, said in a press release.

Herat provincial council member, Najibullah Mohebi, confirmed to the Associated Press (AP) that Taliban fighters had carried out a coordinated attack on a base of the ANA in Shindand on December 6. According to local officials, the army repelled the attack after six hours of clashes. However, the Afghan group had already killed and captured many soldiers.

This was the biggest Taliban attack in Herat since the beginning of this month. The strategic province, which links western and northern Afghanstan, will likely witness bigger attacks in the upcoming few weeks.

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