Afghan forces kill 20 Taliban militants, capture deputy governor amid ongoing peace talks

Afghan forces successfully carried out an attack on Taliban fighters in the southern Helmand Province and also captured the local leader of the organisation. According to the news agency ANI, Afghan forces killed about 20 Taliban militants and captured the Taliban's deputy governor of the Helmand Province, Mawlawi Ghafoor alive. The fight between Afghan forces and Taliban fighter had escalated over the weekend and according to the interior ministry of the Islamic Republic, 71 Taliban militants have been killed during the operations. 

The attack was carried out by the Afghan Air Force in the Nawa and Nahri Saraj districts of the province, Tariq Arian, spokesman for the interior ministry said on Monday. As per report, civilians living in the area were seeking refuge in the nearby city while the clashes between the Afghan forces and Taliban fighters were taking place.  

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Peace talks underway

This comes amid the ongoing peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban in Doha, Qatar, where the two factions are negotiating to end the 20-year-long war and discuss how the power-sharing would look like in post-war Afghanistan. The talks are initiated by the United States, which had signed a historic peace deal with the terrorist group in February this year in line with the Trump administration's plan to exit from the war-torn country. 

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One part of the deal with Washington requires both the Taliban and the Afghan government to reduce violence significantly and start talks accordingly. However, violence in the country is yet to see any downfall with clashes taking place between the two warring sides every other week. 

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Last week, the Taliban had killed 28 police officers in the southern part of the country and later claimed responsibility for the same. As per reports, Taliban fighters asked the police officers to surrender and promised to let them go if they did, but after the officers put down their guns they were all shot dead by the militants. On October 11, Afghan forces killed five Taliban fighters after they tried to attack security posts in Faryab province. 

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(With inputs from ANI, Image Credit: AP)