Afghanistan Times
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AT-KABUL: Afghan security forces in a counter attack have repulsed a massive Taliban offensive in surrounding areas of the capital city of southern Uruzgan province and pushed the militants back around 15km from the city center, officials said Thursday.
The militants suffered heavy casualties in the fighting, after reinforcement, including Afghan commandos, arrived in the province to support local forces, who had retreated several areas in the outskirt of the vulnerable city over the past three days.
“Our forces yesterday morning (Wednesday) had a tactical retreat in some areas and vacated a number of check posts, but in counter attack last night Taliban were forced to leave the areas and were pushed back around 15 km from the city center” Muhammad Wais Samimi, top police official in the province said. “We were already aware of the attacks and had preparation for the offensives” he said.
The official claimed 110 dead bodies of the Taliban fighters left on the battleground, five of their fighters were captured alive in the counter attack in which four Afghan police were “martyred” and six others received injuries. “Their injuries are not life-threatening” the official said.
Dost Muhammad Nayab, spokesman for the provincial governor said Afghan commandos have been arrived in the province and the situation “will soon change and the city’s security belt will be more stabilized against the Taliban attacks.”
After Taliban captured several check posts yesterday in vicinity of the city, a number of local officials, particularly the provincial council members, warned the city may fall, if air support and fresh troops were not deployed to support the local forces.
At one point Taliban came close even 2km to the provincial jail, where tens of Taliban fighters are imprisoned, but Nayab said they have established a strong security belt around the jail and they will not let the militants to break the jail.
According to officials roads leading to several district from Trinkot have been blocked by Taliban fighters, who control several parts of the province. “Taliban deployed their fighters from neighboring Helmand to Uruzgan and this is the major push by the militants to overrun the city” a provincial official, who wished anonymity told Afghanistan times.
Trinkot become the third capital city after Kunduz and Lashkargah which is being threatened by the Taliban over the past one year. Although Kunduz and Lashkargah are under control of the security forces, but security concerns still bothering the citizens about fall of these cities to the militants.
