The Afghan Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Sunday that more than 572 Taliban fighters had been killed and 309 wounded in operations by Afghan security forces and US airstrikes in the past day.
In the past 24 hours, as a result of various operations of the Afghan People’s Defense Forces in Nangarhar, Laghman, Ghazni, Paktia, Paktika, Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces, the Afghan Ministry of Defense wrote in a statement on Twitter, IRNA reported on Monday from India Today. , Herat, Farah, Jawzjan, Sar-e Pol, Faryab, Helmand, Nimroz, Takhar, Kunduz, Badakhshan and Kapisa, 572 Taliban were killed and 309 others were wounded.
The ministry also said at least 45 Taliban fighters, including three al-Qaeda-linked militants, were killed in airstrikes Saturday night on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.
Taliban leader Maulvi Hijrat was reportedly killed in the airstrikes in Helmand on Saturday night.
The Afghan Ministry of Defense claimed that at least 47 Taliban militants were killed and 26 others were wounded in another airstrike in Dand, Zarai and suburbs of Kandahar province.
On Friday, Afghan forces claimed to have killed 112 Taliban insurgents, including 30 foreign al-Qaeda affiliates, on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah.
Heavy clashes have taken place in and around Lashkar Gah, and the US and Afghan government air forces have carried out several airstrikes in the city. The Taliban control nine of the city’s 10 districts, according to the Associated Press.
The Associated Press also quoted Afghan magazine member Ghulam Rabbani Rabbani as saying that the Taliban had taken control of parts of central Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan on Sunday.
The Afghan official added: “Most areas of Kunduz city are under Taliban control and there are clashes around the governor’s office and the police headquarters.” The main prison building in Kunduz is under Taliban control.
In the past few weeks, Taliban forces have continued to advance extensively in various parts of Afghanistan and have been able to take control of several key areas after heavy fighting.
The clashes are taking place amid the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
