Afghan Forces Carry Out Attack on Taliban in Helmand Province, Local Authorities Say

KABUL (Sputnik) - The Afghan Air Force has successfully carried out an attack on a group of Taliban insurgents in the southern Helmand Province, capturing the Taliban’s local deputy governor, the Helmand Governor’s press office said in a statement.

The attack was carried out in the Nawa-I-Barakzayi District, according to the Helmand Governor’s press office. Over 20 Taliban members were killed, while the Taliban's deputy governor for Helmand, Mawlawi Ghafoor, was captured alive by the National Directorate of Security (NDS).

A spokesman for Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry, Tariq Arian, said in a Monday statement that 71 Taliban militants were killed during the Afghan forces’ operation in the Nawa and Nahri Saraj districts of Helmand province.

The Taliban have not released any comments yet.

Clashes between the Afghan forces and the Taliban militants intensified in Helmand over the weekend. A civilian source told Sputnik on Sunday that residents of the Nad-e-Ali District were seeking refuge in the city of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province, amid the escalation of violence.

There were no reports about any fatalities caused by the Sunday clashes, which came amid ongoing peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in the Qatari capital of Doha.