Taliban seize control of two towns in chaotic province
KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban militants seized two towns in tumultuous southern Afghanistan, forcing police and government officials to flee, officials said Monday.
The Taliban operate freely in large areas of southern Afghanistan and police presence there often is virtually nonexistent, but insurgents only were known to have completely seized one town since their hard-line regime was toppled by U.S. forces in 2001. They were quickly driven out of that town, Chora, in Uruzgan province.
The attacks came with thousands of U.S.-led troops involved in an offensive against Taliban holdouts and allied extremists in remote southern and eastern provinces to curb the deadliest upsurge in violence since the hard-line militia was ousted in late 2001.
On Monday, large numbers of militants chased out police after a brief clash in the town of Naway-i-Barakzayi, in Helmand province near the Pakistan border.
Scores of Taliban forces overran police holed up Sunday in a compound in the nearby Helmand town of Garmser. The security forces and a handful of government officials fled.
A local official said Taliban forces were now “moving freely” around the Garmser and the surrounding district.
“We have heard reports of two districts in southern Helmand being under control of the Taliban, and we are in contact with lots of people to build an accurate picture,” said coalition spokesman Maj. Scott Lundy.
“The Taliban are a credible threat, but the coalition is more than a match for them when and wherever we encounter them,” he said.
British military spokesman Capt. Drew Gibson confirmed enemy “activity” in both areas.
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