TALUQAN (SW): The Taliban have reclaimed the territory they lost to the security forces in Takhar’s Yangi Qala and Khwaja Bahauddin districts.
A number of Takhar residents told Salam Watandar groups of armed Taliban overran the Old City in Yangi Qala while the security forces retreated from a number of areas without putting up a resistance. The residents feared if the Taliban are not pushed out from the areas around the Qoqcha River, they would capture more areas after winter.
As per the locals, only the Umari Township in Yangi Qala remains under the control of the security forces.
Meanwhile, Nizammudin Ghori, head of security at the provincial police headquarters, claimed the areas in these provinces are still under the control of the security forces.
A while ago, the security forces conducted clean-up operations in a number of areas in the Darqad, Khwaja Bahauddin and Yangi Qala districts, but return of the Taliban to these areas means the operations were not absolutely successful.
ENDS