Afghan authorities said on Saturday they have killed more than 100 Taliban-linked militants in an operation to retake a remote district from the rebels in south-western Afghanistan.
The rebels were killed during two days of operations by Afghan security forces and their international allies in Bakwa, a remote district in the south-western province of Farah, which was captured eight months ago, they said.
”During two days of operations more than 100 enemies of peace and stability were killed,” Interior Ministry spokesperson Zemarai Bashary said, adding that the district was recaptured from the rebels on Friday.
”We captured the district after eight months of enemy control,” the spokesperson said. Security forces were still chasing the rebels in the district, he added.
He said five ”prominent” Taliban commanders were among the dead.
The Taliban, the main militant group behind a spiralling insurgency, have taken control of remote towns and districts but have been easily pushed back by Afghan and foreign security forces.
Farah, which borders Iran, has seen some of the bloodiest violence in a two-year insurgency, which has mainly taken place in the country’s south and east. — AFP
