Forces jerk into action to retake Yamgan

FAIZABAD (Pajhwok): An operation has been launched to wrest back the control of a remote district in northeastern Badakhshan province, security officials said on Friday.

Special forces , police and army personnel are fighting the Taliban in Yamgan district, where 27 people, including government officials, were taken hostage by the insurgents on Thursday.

Lt. Gen. Fazluddin Ayar, the police chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News the operation got under way early in the morning, four days after the district fell.

Afghan National Army (ANA) commandos and Interior Ministry’s special forces have entered the Yamgan, with police zeroing in on the district from Jurm town.

Six policemen wounded in clashes with the Taliban have been evacuated to hospital, according to the police chief, who would not comment on their health condition.

A day earlier, Interior Minister Mohammad Omar Daudzai said the ANA Corps in the north was working on a plan to take back Yamgan. Precautions would be taken to avoid harm to civilians, he added.

Ayar hoped they would recapture the district and rescue the detainees. Located 150 kilometres from Faizabad, Yamgan borders Jurm and Karan Wa Manjan districts.

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