GHORMACH: At least fifteen people were killed as fresh clashes erupt between security forces and Taliban in Ghormach district of northern Faryab province.
The fight has forced more than seven thousand people’s displacement from the area.
Last week Taliban overran Ghormach district centre, with security operations still ongoing for regaining its control.
More than two months after Taliban appointed Mullah Mansoor as its leader, the armed group has captured new territories in northern and eastern Afghanistan and is reportedly advancing.
US President Barack Obama has announced plans to extend the United States military’s role in Afghanistan and keep the current force of 9,800 troops through most of 2016, amid a surge in Taliban attacks.
Under the new plan, troop numbers will fall to 5,500 starting sometime in 2017, and will be based in Kabul, Bagram, Jalalabad and Kandahar.
Late last month, Taliban fighters briefly took over Kunduz before they were driven out of the strategic northern city by Afghan forces, backed by US air strikes.
The brief fall of Kunduz dealt a major blow to the country’s NATO-trained security forces and highlighted the Taliban’s potential to expand beyond its rural strongholds.
