Afghan security forces suffer major casualties in Taliban offensive, Police Chief killed

Intense clashes broke out in Afghanistan's Takhar region between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban on Tuesday, October 20.  As per ANI reports, the clashes led to the death of Takhar's deputy police chief Raz Mohammad Doorandish as well as several other security personnel. While no exact figures are known, it is believed that the Taliban also suffered massive casualties.

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Massive casualties on both sides

As per reports, the fighting between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban began due to the rebel fighter's attacks on security forces in Baharak district. About 60 Afghan security force personnel were deployed to the Baharak district in an effort to clear the area of insurgent but till now the bodies of only 12 soldiers have been found while 48 still remain missing. The Taliban has not commented on the clashes.

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These intense clashes come just weeks after the Taliban and the Afghan government entered into peace talks in Doha, Qatar. Back in February the United States had signed a deal with the Taliban wherein US would move its troops out of the country and in exchange, the Taliban would swap prisoners with the Afghan Government. After months of delay due to the Afghan government's hesitation to release the last batch of prisoners, the peace talks could finally commence.

During the start of the talks, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the talks were a ‘historic opportunity’ to bring about an end to the decades-long war in Afghanistan. However, the United States Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad on October 6 stated that the current levels of violence in Afghanistan are "too high" and were not beneficial to the Intra Afghan Peace talks.

(With ANI inputs)

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