Afghan Security Sources Say 47 Killed After Taliban Attack in Takhar Province, Reports Suggest
A Taliban ambush in the northeastern province of Takhar has left at least 47 security forces personnel dead, the Afghan broadcaster 1TV News reports on Wednesday, citing security sources.
Earlier in the day, the broadcaster cited Jawad Hijri, spokesman for the regional governor, who said that the clashes took place in the Baharak and Khwaja Ghar districts of the province.
At that time, Hijri said that 16 Taliban militants and 17 security forces personnel, including the deputy provincial police chief, were killed in the clashes, the broadcaster said.
Elsewhere in the country, 12 Afghan women died in the city of Jalalabad after a stampede broke out at a soccer ground where thousands of people had gathered to apply for Pakistani visas, the broadcaster cited Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial governor, as saying.
Khogyani stated that 13 others, including 10 women, suffered injuries in the incident, the broadcaster said.
Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, Mansoor Khan, offered his sympathies and pledged to work with the Afghan authorities to establish better conditions for visa applicants, according to the broadcaster.
Bomb blasts and violent clashes continue to ravage Afghanistan, causing deaths among civilians and the security forces, despite the ongoing peace talks in Qatar between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
- Source : Sputniknews.com
