PUL-E-KHOMRI (SW): Gen. Murad Ali Murad, Deputy Chief of Staff, who commands fighting against the rebels in Dand-e-Ghori area in Baghlan, has said that after five days of fighting, 37 Taliban fighters have been killed while 31 more have been injured.
He said that a top Taliban military commander is also among those injured. He added that among those injured and killed included Pakistani militants. “The fighting in Dand-e-Ghori is commanded by Pakistani generals”, he said.
Fighting between the security forces and the Taliban intensified last week when the militants blew-up a power tower in Dand-e-Shahab area, which has resulted in power outage in Kabul for the past 5 days now.
Security officials said last week on Thursday that the area was under their control and would soon clear the landmines around the power tower. Officials at Da Afghanistan Breshna Shirkat too said that they would replace the damaged power tower with a new one as soon as the area is fully cleared of the landmines.
The officials at DABS currently say that there is an intense fighting in the area and that the security forces do not allow them to enter the area to fix the tower.
Gen.Murad said on Sunday that the operation called Khorshid 20 (Sun 20) would continue until the Taliban are fully defeated.
Security officials in Baghlan said that hundreds of villages have been cleared of the militants so far.
Zabiullah Mujahid, Taliban’s spokesman, has claimed in a statement that they have killed 34 security personnel in the fighting so far.
ENDS
