Taliban fighters during a military exercise before “Operation al-Khandagh”
On August 31, the Taliban captured two checkpoints in the district of Shirin Tagab in the northern province of Faryab following heavy clashes with the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP), according to the Taliban news agency Voice of Jihad.
The Afghan group claimed that its fighters had killed two personnel of the ANA and the ANP and had injured three others during the attack. Furthermore, an armored vehicle was destroyed by Taliban fighters .
Voice of Jihad said that the attack in Shirin Tagab was a part of the Taliban’s spring offensive, codenamed “Operation al-Khandagh”, which was launched on April 25 in response to Washington’s decision to increase the US military presence in Afghanistan.
Earlier this week, Taliban fighters ambushed a large convoy of ANA in Faryab. The convoy was carrying between 350 and 400 Afghan soldiers who had fled from their positions in the district of Ghormach.
According to Afghan sources, hundreds of ANA soldiers fled their positions throughout Faryab when the Taliban captured the district center of Bilchiragh two weeks ago. These new attacks will likely further complicate the situation in the province and affected the morale of the remaining soldiers.
