According to the sources, the center of the district is now under Taliban influence. Afghan forces retreated from the center of Dawlat Shah district in Laghman province on Thursday, two sources from the province reported, saying the decision to move came after the area was surrounded by the Taliban for months.
According to the sources, the center of the district is now under Taliban control.
Dawlat Shah district is located 47 kilometers north of Mehtarlam city, the center of Laghman, and shares a border with Panjshir province.
The district had been besieged by the Taliban for the last six months, sources said.
“In the past six months, more than 15 security force members were killed and there was no way to take the wounded out of the district,” the sources said.
The Taliban claimed to have captured the district government buildings.
The Ministry of Defense said that Afghan forces will soon push the Taliban back from the area.
Provincial council members said that the Taliban attacked the district in the early hours of Thursday morning and “nearly 30 security forces members were killed and wounded." They said "the Taliban have also captured several security outposts.”
“We contacted people and they told us that clashes are still ongoing in Dawlat Shah,” said Gulzar Sangarwal, a member of the provincial council.
The district borders Alishing district, and Nuristan, Panjshir and Kapisa provinces.
“Claims of Dawlat Shah district falling are false. The security forces are present there,” said Rohaullah Ahamdzai, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense.
In the meantime, sources said that the local government and Taliban have extended the three days Eid ceasefire for another month in Alingar district of Laghman.
“They (Taliban) have come from Alingar district to Dawlat Shah for war. Not only from Alingar but also from neighboring provinces such as Kunar, Nuristan and Nangarhar. The Taliban have come to Laghman for war,” said Zayfonon Safi, an MP from Laghman.
Before this, the security forces also retreated from Burka district in Baghlan and Nerkh district in Maidan Wardak province.
The residents of Jalriz district of Maidan Wardak and MPs from southern provinces have gathered in Kabul to bring attention to the security situation in their provinces.
Toryalai, a resident of Jalriz said: “The situation in Jalriz is very bad and only three villages remain--and they are also under siege by the Taliban, and the Taliban is searching the people’s houses.”
At least nine civilians, including women and children, were killed in a roadside mine blast in Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand province, according to local officials.