Taliban insurgents have again taken the Janikhail district of eastern Paktia province after heavy clashes with security forces late Wednesday, a security source has told TOLOnews.
The Taliban insurgents again attacked the district on Tuesday and clashed with security forces. “The district fell into hands of the Taliban on Wednesday night as the security forces retreated from the area,” the source said.
“The security forces asked for air support during the clashes, but did not receive a response and retreated from the district as a result,” the source added.
There are no reports of casualties as yet, officials said.
Janikhail also fell to the Taliban insurgents two weeks ago, but the security forces retook control of the district on Friday. Now the district is once again in the hands of the Taliban.
Before the latest attacks, local officials had said that the lack of sufficient security forces last week led to the collapse of the strategic district. They called on the central government, particularly the Ministry of Interior (MoI), to address the shortcomings of police in the volatile region.
Prior to the latest capture of Paktia by the Taliban, police officials warned that if more government forces were not dispatched to the area, there was the possibility that Janikhail would once again fall to the Taliban insurgents.
However, the source said that to date no reinforcements have been deployed to the district.