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Taliban Block Roads Leading To Farah City
Members of Farah provincial council Tuesday reported that dozens of Taliban fighters have gathered around Farah city and plan to launch a coordinated attack on the provincial capital. Meanwhile, security officials in Farah have said that the security forces have started a large scale operation in an attempt to thwart such a plan and eliminate the insurgents. Residents in the city have reported that dozens of families have fled their homes in their quest to escape a possible Taliban offensive. Intense fighting has been ongoing between the security forces and the Taliban in Farah in the past eleven days. Insurgents have also blown up a bridge connecting Herat-Farah and Farah-Kabul highways. "At the moment, all roads to Farah, Farah Rod, and roads to Poshrod district which is connected to the center have been blocked, hundreds of Taliban militants have flocked from Farah, Helmand and Shindand district of Herat, we are concerned about the possible collapse of Farah like Kunduz," said Farid Bakhtor, a member of Farah provincial council. "Taliban are deployed in Kanask area alongside the road and they stop the cars, they have raised their flag and are searching for those working with the government," said Noor Mohammad , a resident of Farah. "The area where we are deployed is called Soor and it is part of Farah city; last night around 9:00 pm the Taliban entered into the village and asked the villagers to flee the village so that they are not harmed during the war with the security forces," said Qasim, an Afghan national police officer in Farah. "Some of our neighbors can't accept our country is moving towards progress and development particularly Iran, after reports surfaced about the construction of the dam, Iran has escalated the war in Farah," said Dadullah Qane, a member of Farah provincial council. Amid concerns over the collapse of the province to the Taliban, meanwhile Raz Mohammad Oryakhail, the commander of 207 Zafar army regiment in Farah has said that the security forces have pushed back the Taliban from parts of Farah city in the north, adding that at least 100 insurgents were eliminated during the battles. "Enemy forces have been pushed back from the operation zone, a massive toll has been inflicted on the enemy and Farah highway is completely opened for traffic," he said. "Our responsibility is to defend the nation and the country, it is an obligation and we are determined to do this," Farah governor Mohammad Asif Nang said. Reinforcements and air power have been sent to the area to help the security forces in their campaign against the Taliban. Video report at the link Posted by: badanov 2016-10-05 |
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