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Roundup: Battle leaves 13 militants dead in NE. Afghanistan, provincial governor calls for reinforcement

Xinhua, July 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

A gun battle between government forces and Taliban militants for the control of the strategically important Tirgaran valley in Wardoj district of Afghanistan's Badakhshan province has left 13 insurgents dead over the past two days, police said Saturday.

"At least 13 Taliban militants including three foreign nationals have been killed in Tirgaran area over the past two days, " deputy to provincial police chief Sakhidad Haidary told Xinhua.

He didn't say if there were casualties on security forces.

However, he added that the government forces have been fighting tooth and nail to evict Taliban militants from the area.

Meanwhile, Dawlat Mohammad Khawar, the governor of Wardoj district in talks with Xinhua confirmed that fierce fighting has been going on between militants and security forces over the past two days for the control of Tirgaran area and both sides suffered casualties.

He added that the militants have intensified efforts to capture the strategically important Tirgaran valley.

The militants, he said had overrun two villages and destroyed an antenna of a communication company in the area and had disturbed the communication system to some extent.

Shah Wali Adeb, the acting governor of Badakhshan province, in talks with local media on Saturday called for reinforcement, warning any delay in dispatching fresh troops would lead to the fall of Wardoj district.

He also confirmed that a security base with 200-strong troopers has been besieged by the armed militants in Tirgaran valley.

The acting governor also warned that the collapse of Tirgaran valley would pave the way for the collapse of Wardoj district and eventually would facilitate militants infiltrating into the neighboring Zebak district.

Taliban militants fighting the government to regain power had captured Khostak valley in the neighboring Jarm district, Badakhshan province couple of months ago, and have been fighting government forces in Wardoj, Shuhada and Baharak districts over the past couple of weeks. Endi