MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Local media reported Tuesday citing provincial officials that at least nine Afghan security forces officers had been killed when repelling attacks by the Taliban terrorist group in the Afghanistan's western Farah province, while the Afghan forces managed to kill 16 terrorists.
According to the TOLOnews broadcaster, the clashes began late Monday when terrorists launched separate attacks on security checkpoints in the province’s Khatiban and Bala Buluk districts.
The clashes in Khatiban continued late into the evening, when Afghan National Army helicopters hit terrorist positions causing large numbers of casualties among the insurgents, according to the Farah police headquarters spokesman cited by the broadcaster.
The terrorists reportedly carried out coordinated attacks on Afghan National Police checkpoints late Monday in areas covering the cities of Lashkar Gah and Kandahar, Maiwand and Zherai districts.
The broadcaster added that 15 police officers have been injured, while the security forces killed 45 militants and injured 25 more.
Afghanistan has long been suffering from an unstable political, social, and security situation due to the simmering militant insurgency. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces are currently conducting joint offensive operations to combat terrorism across the country.
