Afghan forces retaliated
heavily in Afghanistan’s Sheberghan killing nearly 200 Taliban fighters in air
strikes, ANI quoted an Afghan defence ministry official saying. The Afghan Air
Forces targeted Taliban hideouts and gatherings in a bid to wrest the city from
Taliban’s control.

Earlier this week,
Taliban tried to take control over Sheberghan — capital of Afghanistan’s Jawzjan
province — but faced stiff resistance.

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“More than 200
terrorist Taliban were killed in Sheberghan city after Air Forces targeted
their gathering and hideouts today evening. A large number of their weapons and
ammunition and more than 100s of their vehicles were destroyed as a result of
the air strikes,” said Faward Aman, an Afghan defence ministry official on
Twitter.

According to the
official, a B-52 bomber was used to target a Taliban gathering.

The Afghanistan
commando forces also arrested an alleged terrorist from Pakistan on the
outskirts if the Ghazni provincial centre earlier today.

Sheberghan had
almost fallen to the Taliban forces over the last two days. Local lawmakers blamed
the Afghan government for the security situation and said that the government
had remained indifferent to the matter.

However, the
arrival of a 150-strong contingent of the public uprising has bolstered support
for the civilian administration within local communities. Religious scholars in
Nangarhar province have donated blood to wounded Afghan soldiers in show of
their support for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.

On Friday, Taliban
had captured Zaranj, the capital of the Nimroz province in southwestern
Afghanistan. Zaranj apparently fell to Taliban with minimum resistance.

At the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Afghanistan on Friday chaired by
India, member states expressed concern over the deteriorating situation and
called for a political settlement.

The United States
too has pledged airstrikes to counter the Taliban after they withdraw forces
from Afghanistan. Taliban’s hideouts in the Kunduz provincial centre are being targeted.
According to official estimates, a total of 385 Taliban fighters have been
killed and 210 others wounded as a result of operations in various provinces in
the last 24 hours.