Defeat Government Forces, Taliban Take Control Of Afghanistan's Main Border Crossing - Iran

JAKARTA - Taliban insurgents continue their successful military campaign, after the United States (US) decided to withdraw its military from the country.

Yesterday, the Taliban captured a northern district in western Afghanistan which is the main crossing of the country's border with Iran, local security officials said.

In the past week, the Taliban have invaded areas bordering five countries, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China and Pakistan, as domestic security deteriorated as foreign militaries stepped in.

Fierce fighting between Taliban fighters and Afghan government forces is also taking place in the northern Balkh province bordering Uzbekistan.

Two senior security officials said on condition of anonymity that the Islamic Qala border with Iran, located in Herat province, had fallen into the hands of the Taliban. Meanwhile, Afghan customs and security officers have fled across the border.

Al Alalam TV, Iran's official Arabic language service, also reported Afghan soldiers had entered Iranian territory via border crossings to escape the Taliban.

Tariq Arian, a spokesman for Afghanistan's interior ministry, denied the reports and said the border crossings were still under the control of government forces.

Calls by Reuters to the provincial governor's office and police went unanswered. Meanwhile, another security official said Taliban fighters had captured five districts in Herat without a fight.

Earlier this week, more than 1,000 Afghan security personnel fled to Tajikistan as the Taliban seized much of the northern province of Badakhshan, which also borders China and Pakistan.

Separately, the Defense Ministry said Afghan government forces retook control of Qala-e-Naw, the capital of the western province of Badghis on Thursday, after being overrun by the Taliban on Wednesday.

Hundreds of troops were deployed to the area, the ministry said, adding that fighting was continuing on the outskirts of Qala-e-Naw, where insurgents had previously seized key government buildings in the city including police headquarters.

"The city is completely (back) under our control and we are carrying out operations against the Taliban on the outskirts of the city," Defense Ministry spokesman Fawad Aman said.

The ministry said 69 Taliban fighters were killed in the operation on the outskirts of Qala-e-Naw, the capital of the first major province the insurgents entered in their latest attack.