439 Taliban terrorists killed, 77 wounded in last 24hrs, claims Afghanistan Defense Min

The Afghan security forces have killed 439 Taliban militants and wounded 77 more in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Defence, Aghanistan, took to Twitter to make the announcement on Wednesday, August 11. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) operations were held in Nangarhar, Laghman, Logar, Paktia, Uruzgan, Zabul, Ghor, Farah, Balkh, Helmand Kapisa, and Baghlan provinces of the country.

"439 #Taliban terrorists were killed and 77 others were wounded as a result of #ANDSF operations in Nangarhar, Laghman, Logar, Paktia, Uruzgan, Zabul, Ghor, Farah, Balkh, Helmand Kapisa, and Baghlan provinces during the last 24 hours," Afghan Defense Ministry wrote in the tweet.

Also, airstrikes on the outskirts of Kandahar's provincial capital killed 25 terrorists. "25 #Taliban terrorists were killed, and 13 others were wounded in #airstrikes conducted by #AAF at the outskirts of #Kandahar provincial center, yesterday," the Defense Ministry stated.

On Twitter this evening, the Ministry confirmed that ANA commando special forces cleared “Tapae Ahmad Beg” of the Nejrab district in Kapisa province, early this afternoon. Additionally, they mentioned that Taliban terrorists have suffered heavy losses during the ANDSF clearance operation. "#ANA Commando Special Forces cleared of the “Tapae Ahmad Beg” area of #Nejrab district of #Kapisa province, afternoon today. #Taliban terrorists were suffered heavy casualties during the #ANDSF clearing operation," the Ministry tweeted.

Violence escalates in Afghanistan 

President Ashraf Ghani arrived in Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh province on Wednesday amid escalating violence. This visit coincides with the Taliban's seizure of several Afghan provincial capitals. In and around Kunduz, Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, and other Afghan cities,  hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk due to the ongoing conflict between Afghan government forces and the Taliban. 

U.S. officials are concerned that the Taliban could seize the Afghan capital of Kabul within one to three months, which is much sooner than what the previous assessments had proposed. In June, US intelligence officials predicted that Kabul could fall in six to twelve months following the withdrawal of American troops. According to the Washington Post, the situation in Afghanistan now appears to be worse than it was then.

Image Credit: AP