Afghan officials say security forces have retaken the Ghormach district in the northwestern Faryab Province after it was overrun by Taliban militants several days ago.
Baryalai Basharyar, provincial deputy police chief said government forces raised the Afghan flag over the district headquarters in the morning of October 24 following a three-day air-and-ground offensive.
Basharyar also said Ghormach district police chief Abdul Majid along with at least 12 other policemen had been killed by the Taliban after they were captured alive last week.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said government forces were still clearing the district center of pockets of Taliban resistance.
Reinforcements were sent to Faryab after the Taliban seized the district on October 18.
The Interior Ministry said First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum coordinated operations there.
Dostum, a former warlord with no formal position in the military, has recently taken his personal militia to fight the Taliban and other insurgents across the northern provinces.