Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
AT News Report-Kabul: District chief and security chief of Khwaja Omari in southern Ghazni province were killed after insurgents staged a predawn ambush in the district on Thursday midnight.
The gubernatorial spokesperson Aref Noori said that Khwaja Omari district had come under ambush of insurgents wielding heavy and light weapons at 2:00 am.
He said that the Taliban had hailed from the neighboring Jaghato district of Maidan Wardak province and purged Khwaja Omari district, where clashes continued for over three hours. Jaghato district is located one km from Khwaja Omari district. He said the Afghan forces immediately began retaliatory ambush and were shortly supported by reinforcements.
Exchange of fire between insurgents and Afghan forces lasted over three hours. The defense forces repelled the Taliban who fled back to Jaghato district. He said that unfortunately seven people including five policemen, the district chief and security head of Khwaja Omari were killed in the ambush.
Nine others, mostly police officers, were wounded in the attack. He said that Taliban used heavy weapons, thus the district and police compounds mostly destroyed, so probably some dead bodies of police will remained under destroyed walls. The Taliban also sustained heavy casualties. However further details are not at hand. Denying that the district had fallen to the Taliban, he said that after dawn, the district was clear and the threat was suppressed.
The Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement confirmed the attack over Khwaja Omari district, saying the Taliban had captured district and police compounds. He said that 20 policemen including the police chief and the district chief were killed. Taliban confirmed that three of their fighters were killed and four others wounded in the attack over Khwaja Omari district.
