27 ANA soldiers, 63 armed opponents suffer casualties

Monitoring Desk

KABUL: As many as 27 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers and 63 armed opponents suffered casualties in separate incidents in Nimroz and Farah provinces, the defence ministry announced on Monday.

According to a press release issued by defence ministry spokesman Daulat Waziri to Afghan Islamic Press (AIP), the Afghan forces conducted operations in Farah and Nimroz provinces over the past 24 hours.

Waziri said 22 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers and 41 armed opponents were killed in the offensives.

He went on to say that the security and defence forces carried out offensive on Nimroz-Dilaram highway, leaving 41 armed opponents dead and 22 more injured.

Similarly, he added that 22 ANA soldiers were killed and five more injured in the operation. Waziri did not clarify as how many ANA soldiers and armed opponents were killed in Farah and Nimroz. However, the Taliban claimed causing heavy casualties to Afghan forces as a result of attacks in Anar Dara district of Farah and Khashrod district of Nimroz.

Taliban attacked a security base in Anar Dara district in Farah province. The Taliban captured the base in the early morning. Deputy spokesman for interior ministry, Nusrat Rahimi said eight security personnel were killed and 10 more sustained injuries in the gunfight.

He said 56 Taliban fighters were killed and multiple more injured in airstrikes.

However, Farah provincial assembly chairman Muhammad Farid Bakhtawar said that 15 security personnel, including the police chief were killed during the collapse of the district headquarters. He went on to say that the security forces recaptured the district headquarters in the morning.

Separately, Taliban attacked an ANA checkpoint in Pusht-e-Hasan area in Khashrod district of Nimroz province. Ten security personnel were killed in the clash, Taliban said.

It is pertinent to mention here that 18 security personnel were killed in gunfight in Bala Baluk district of Farah province on last Saturday.

Meanwhile, two local police personnel, including a commander were wounded in a blast in Kunar province on Monday.

Remote-controlled explosives laid on a donkey went off near local police in Sarkani district early Monday, leaving a commander among two cops injured, Kunar police spokesman Farid Dehqan told AIP.

The commander had sustained critical injuries, he said. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing so far.