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'Intense Fighting' Under Way As Afghan Forces Try To Retake District From Taliban


Afghan army in Badakhshan.
Afghan army in Badakhshan.

Officials say "intense fighting" is under way in northeast Afghanistan as government forces attempt to retake a district overrun by Taliban militants.

Shah Waliullah Adeeb, the acting governor of Badakhshan Province, said on June 7 that more than 10 militants and four security personnel were killed in clashes around Badakhshan's Yamgan district.

Adeeb said reinforcements backed by aircraft were sent to support security forces in Yamgan, which fell under Taliban control on June 6.

Provincial officials say foreign insurgents are fighting alongside the Taliban in Yamgan.

The Taliban confirmed that their fighters had captured the center of the district.

The Taliban briefly overran Yamgan in the spring of 2014, but government forces regained the district after two days of clashes.

Afghan security forces are now fighting the insurgency without the help of international troops, who ended the combat phase of their mission last year.

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