Taliban Special Forces. Illustrative image
On June 7, the Taliban launched a new large scale military operation against the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP) in the district of Pur Chaman of the western province of Farah, according to the Taliban news agency Voice of Jihad.
The Taliban claimed that its fighters managed to capture several positions inside the district center of Pur Chaman, including the district administration center and the headquarters of the ANP and the National Directorate of Security (NDS). Moreover, the Afghan group claimed that the chiefs of the ANP and the NDS in the district surrendered to its fighters.
Reportedly, Taliban fighters also advanced around the district center of Pur Chaman and captured the villages of Dehdar, Sar Hawza and Dabina.
According to the Voice of Jihad, the new military operation in Farah is 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, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced a weeklong ceasefire with the Taliban. However, the Taliban has not commented on the matter, so far.
