On March 10, Taliban fighters ambushed a unit of the Afghan Army Special Forces in the Tapa Sadat area of the Bala Blok district in the western province of Farah, according to the Taliban news agency Voice of Jihad.
Taliban fighters allegedly killed and injured more than 53 soldiers and destroyed two armored vehicles belonging to the army. Several weapons were also captured by the Taliban.
فیديو لبعض قتلى كوماندوز الجيش العميل في ولاية فراه pic.twitter.com/I8EFe5AXaL
— الإمارة الإسلامية (@alemara_ar) March 10, 2018
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Head of Farah provincial council Farid Bakhtawar acknowledged that the Afghan Army Special Forces had been ambushed in the Bala Blok district and revealed that fifteen Afghan soldiers, including eight servicemembers of the Special Forces, had been killed, according to the Afghan TOLO TV. Three soldiers were captured by the Taliban, according to Bakhtawar.
Voice of Jihad also reported that the Taliban had captured another checkpoint in the Birnghtut area around the city of Farah, the capital of Farah province on March 10. Taliban fighters captured an soldier and killed several others during their attack on the checkpoint, according to Voice of Jihad.
On January 18 and 19, several Afghan officials warned that the Taliban are on the verge of capturing the city of Farah. Governor of Farah province Mohammad Arif Shahjahan even resigned on January 25 to protest the lack of the security in the province.
However, to this day the Afghan Army and the NATO have not launched any large military operation to recapture the key positions around Farah from the Taliban.
