Taliban claimed capturing a district

Taliban have claimed capturing Arghandab district of the southern Zabul province from government forces but provincial officials said they were still in control of the district.

Spokesman for the ousted militia Qari Yousaf Ahmadi told to Media on Tuesday they pushed back the government and foreign troops from headquarters of the district after fierce fighting on Monday.

He claimed several policemen and foreign soldiers were killed in the clash. Several armour vehicles belonging to the foreign troops were also destroyed by their men, said the purported spokesman.

A provincial security official, who did not want to be named, told this news agency the district headquarters had been shifted from its old site in Siagaz to another location in Bagh area as a strategic move.

He said the militants attacked the police convoy while shifting to the new district centre. No policeman was killed or injured in the attack, said the official.

Press office of the Interior Ministry in Kabul also rejected Taliban's claim regarding capturing the district. An official said a clash occurred between local police and Taliban which ended at the killing of one Taliban fighter.

The militia had captured the district some three months back. Later, they relinquished its control after immense pressure from the government forces. Arghandab is the third district in the southern region captured by Taliban. Earlier, they had occupied the Nawa Barakzai and Garmsir districts in Helmand.