By Rod Nordland, Fahim Abed in addition to Mujib Mashal
Aug. 12, 2018
KABUL, Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan — Afghan authorities forces lost to a greater extent than than 200 officers in addition to soldiers inwards fighting over the past times iii days equally Taliban insurgents launched sustained attacks on 4 dissimilar fronts.
The hardest-hit surface area was the southeastern urban center of Ghazni, where to a greater extent than than 100 constabulary officers in addition to soldiers had been killed past times Sunday, a infirmary official said, in addition to the insurgents appeared to hold upward inwards control of most of the strategic urban center aside from a few of import authorities facilities.
Ninety miles west, inwards Ghazni Province, the Taliban seized command of the Ajristan District. The elite regular army commando unit of measurement that had been defending the district disappeared for 2 days, in addition to their superiors were uncertain of their fate. When they found out on Sunday, estimates of the dead ranged from forty to 100. Twenty-two survivors were carried to security on donkeys past times rescuers who found them lost inwards the mountains.
In Faryab Province, 250 miles to the northwest, an isolated Afghan National Army base of operations of 100 soldiers lost to a greater extent than than one-half of its men inwards a Taliban laid on that ended early on Lord's Day morning. The defenders said they did non await to concluding some other night.
And 275 miles eastward of the Faryab base, inwards northern Baghlan Province, at a base of operations at Jangal Bagh on the strategic highway betwixt Pul-i-Kumri in addition to Kunduz, insurgents killed vii policemen in addition to nine soldiers in addition to captured iii other soldiers on Saturday.
With the tempo of the Afghan conflict steadily increasing, it was a bad few days for the Afghan government. The fighting has demonstrated that the insurgents receive got a capacity for carrying out ambitious operations on multiple fronts, patch the authorities has struggled to respond on a unmarried front end inwards Ghazni.
Baz Mohammad Hemat, the managing director of the Ghazni Hospital, said past times telephone that 113 bodies had been taken to the hospital, along with 142 people who had been wounded, most of them inwards uniform.
“We’re running out of infirmary rooms; nosotros are using corridors in addition to available infinite everywhere,” Mr. Hemat said. “Fighting is quite unopen to the hospital. The province of affairs is actually bad here. We’re receiving to a greater extent than in addition to to a greater extent than wounded in addition to dead every hour.”
The decease cost appeared for certain to rise, with numerous reports of bodies left unrecovered approximately the city. The autumn of Ghazni, if it happens, would hold upward the Taliban’s most of import victory yet, equally the urban center is on the main north-south highway, in addition to its capture would effectively cutting off the capital, Kabul, in addition to the northward from the insurgents’ Pashtun homeland inwards the south.
ImageA soundless ikon from a video showing the aftermath of a Taliban onslaught on Ghazni, Afghanistan, on Friday.CreditAgence France-Presse — Getty Images
“Heavy fighting is ongoing approximately the governor’s office, the Police Headquarters in addition to the chemical compound of the intelligence agency,” said Nasir Ahmad Faqiri, a fellow member of the provincial council. “The forces inwards Ghazni receive got resisted well, but naturally they receive got fought in addition to then long. The reinforcements receive got non done anything effective. All they receive got done is constitute a base of operations for themselves.”
He added, “Bodies are lying around, they receive got decomposed, in addition to no i is doing anything to evacuate them.”
The Afghan government minister of populace health, Ferozuddin Feroz, said he had asked the International Committee of the Red Cross for “urgent help” inwards transporting the wounded in addition to dead out of Ghazni.
We are closely next the province of affairs inwards Ghazni. We’ve supplied trunk bags to the provincial infirmary in addition to nosotros are develop to furnish to a greater extent than assistance equally presently the province of affairs allows
Taliban fighters inwards Ghazni continued to receive got over guard posts that the constabulary had abandoned. At one, an insurgent shot a dark domestic dog iii times with his AK-47. Asked why, he answered that it was a constabulary guard domestic dog that had alerted officers when the Taliban approached inwards the night.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 senior Afghan official said that the authorities’ response to the Taliban onslaught on Ghazni had been chaotic. Police officers who had been besieged inwards Ghazni Prison for 2 days were almost out of ammunition when the Afghan National Army reached them with supplies. It turned out, however, that the regular army uses American ammunition, patch the constabulary purpose Russian ammunition. The official spoke on the status of anonymity because he was non authorized to free the information.
Col. Farid Ahmad Mashal, Ghazni’s constabulary chief, said past times telephone that reinforcements, including American troops, were commencement to clear the Taliban from the city. He said that to a greater extent than than 1,000 insurgents had attacked Ghazni in addition to that 500 had been killed.
“They dreamed of repeating the autumn of Kunduz here, in addition to nosotros sent them to their graves with those dreams,” Colonel Mashal said, referring to the northern urban center overrun briefly past times the Taliban inwards 2015 and 2016.
The authorities inwards Kabul in addition to the regular army continued to insist that they were inwards amount command of Ghazni. “The strategic locations inwards Ghazni urban center are inwards the command of authorities forces,” Gen. Mohammad Sharif Yaftali, principal of staff of the Afghan National Army, or A.N.A., said at a word conference. “The governor’s office, prison, Police Headquarters in addition to A.N.A. bases are nether authorities control. The Taliban are settled inwards houses in addition to shops of people within the city.”
Video posted on social media sites, however, showed insurgents strolling casually approximately the city. Numerous local residents confirmed that militants were commandeering homes to purpose equally bases.
Here inwards Ghazni urban center all shops are closed due to ongoing intense fighting b/w #ANSF in addition to Taliban, difficult to notice an opened upward store in addition to buying Ice Cream.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 spokesman for the the States military, Lt. Col. Martin L. O’Donnell, said that 10 American airstrikes had been carried out on Sunday, 5 on Sabbatum in addition to i on Friday. He described Ghazni equally “relatively quiet” in addition to added, “What nosotros are seeing equally the clearing operations operate along is the Taliban attempting to harass Afghan forces in addition to using civilians, who they exhibit picayune regards toward, equally cover.”
Colonel O’Donnell confirmed that some American troops were inwards Ghazni. “U.S. advisers are assisting the Afghan forces, who are leading the clearing operation,” he said.
Taliban insurgents said they had amassed forces from several provinces for the onslaught on Ghazni, the 4th fourth dimension they receive got tried to capture a provincial capital, most latterly inwards May, when they attacked Farah inwards western Afghanistan. Despite the large number of insurgents fighting inwards Ghazni city, the Taliban also mounted deadly attacks inwards iii other parts of the province from Fri through Sunday.
In Ajristan, a district inwards the rugged western portion of Ghazni Province most ninety miles from the city, an entire Afghan National Army commando unit of measurement disappeared for 2 days later the Taliban drove 2 bomb-laden vehicles into its base of operations on Friday, setting off powerful explosions that destroyed the base of operations in addition to killed an unknown number of soldiers in addition to policemen there, according to a senior Afghan security official. The official, speaking on the status of anonymity because of the delicacy of the issue, said they feared that equally many equally 100 of the commandos in addition to their constabulary allies had been killed. “It was a catastrophe,” he said.
The survivors reportedly fled the base of operations into the mountainous, arid terrain, according to Zamin Ali Hedayat, the governor of the neighboring district, Malistan. Mr. Hedayat said that thirty of the survivors — commandos in addition to policemen — along with the local constabulary chief, Obaidullah Khan, fled toward the Miramor District inwards the neighboring province of Daykondi. He said the Taliban ambushed them en route, beheading Mr. Khan in addition to killing all thirty of the others.
There was no independent confirmation of that. The Taliban spokesman posted a Twitter message proverb the Taliban had killed 43 inwards the Ajristan onslaught in addition to took “39 hireling commandos” prisoner.
When a reporter called Mr. Hedayat to inquire most the fate of the commandos, the governor said that the Afghan Ministry of Defense had only called him in addition to asked the same thing. “I told them they did non come upward to my district,” he said.
Instead they were on a two-day trek to accomplish Miramor. Abdul Qader Haidari, the governor inwards Miramor, said 22 surviving commandos in addition to policemen reached a roadless surface area inwards his district. “We went to reckon them with donkeys in addition to motorcycles,” he said. “We receive got them hither straightaway equally our guests.”
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 medic who treated them said they were inwards misfortunate condition. “All of them walked for to a greater extent than than 2 days, in addition to they didn’t know where they were going,” the medic, Nasir Akbari, said. “One of them walked barefoot all the way; others their shoes were falling apart, their uniforms were torn in addition to inwards bad shape.” The survivors told him that forty of their number had been killed inwards Taliban ambushes on the way, he said.
In the Faryab onslaught far to the north, an Afghan National Army base of operations had been nether sustained onslaught for iii weeks inwards the Ghormach District when the insurgents launched a peculiarly heavy onslaught Sabbatum in addition to Sunday. More than one-half of the 100 defenders were either killed or wounded, according to First Lt. Shah Fahim, the platoon commander whose unit of measurement was defending the base. Lieutenant Fahim said that 21 soldiers in addition to xv edge officers had been killed in addition to that 33 soldiers had been wounded.
His companionship commander, Capt. Sayid Azam, was alongside the dead, he said. “The base of operations is amount of wounded in addition to dead, in addition to the whole identify is covered inwards blood,” Lieutenant Fahim said. “It’s a miracle we’re alive. They attacked us with 1,000 militants in addition to all kinds of heavy equipment.”
Four days earlier his death, Captain Azam inwards Faryab spoke to a reporter past times cellphone, his vocalisation desperate in addition to angry. “Since xx days nosotros are bespeak for assist in addition to no i is listening,” he said. “Every nighttime fighting, every nighttime the enemy are attacking us from iii sides with rockets. We don’t know what to do.”
On Sunday, the reporter spoke past times telephone to Lieutenant Fahim, who said he expected a renewed onslaught Lord's Day night. “The Taliban are only on the other side of the wall,” the lieutenant said, weeping. “This may hold upward the concluding fourth dimension nosotros speak.”
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