Afghanistan forces stop Taliban attack on India-built Salma Dam, says defence ministry

The Afghanistan forces on August 3 thwarted the Taliban’s attack on India-built Salma Dam in Herat Province. The Afghan government said that the terror group suffered “heavy casualties” and fled the area as a result of counter-attacks. While taking to Twitter, Afghan defence ministry spokesperson Fawad Aman said that the insurgent group attempted to attack Salma Dam - popularly known as the India-Afghanistan friendship dam - however, they “failed” to destroy it. 

According to ANI, last month too Salma Dam was targeted by the Taliban rockets but the rockets and artillery shells landed close to the dam, which has not been hit. Salma Dam is one of the largest dams in Afghanistan and it provides irrigation water and electricity to thousands of families in the province. It has a water storage capacity of 640 million cubic meters and an irrigation capacity of 2,00,000 acres of farmland from the Chishti Sharif District of Herat to the Zulfiqar area on the Iran Border.

The attack comes amid a time when the Taliban has intensified its attacks on civilians and Afghan forces. Over the last weeks, the insurgent group has captured several districts in Afghanistan including Takhar, the country’s northeastern province. ANI reported that nationwide, the Taliban now controls 223 districts, with 116 contested and the government holding 68. 17 of 34 provincial capitals are directly threatened by the Taliban.

‘Sudden troop withdrawal is worsening situation’ 

Meanwhile, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on August 2 said the country’s deteriorating situation in the face of the Taliban's advancements is due to the “sudden” decision of the United States to withdraw its troops. However, Ghani also added that his government had a plan to bring the situation under control within a period of six months. According to Ghani, the extremist group would not have moved towards peace unless the worsening security situation was curbed. 

The Afghan government and the Taliban insurgents started peace talks last year in the Qatari capital of Doha. However, both sides failed to make any significant progress despite a few rounds of talks. At a recent meeting in Doha between both delegations, the sides committed to ramping up the negotiations.

(Image: Twitter/AP)