July 17, 2016

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A local official in Afghanistan’s central province of Uruzgan warned that the entire province is in danger of falling to Taliban militants.
Mohammad Zaher Naderi, member of Uruzgan provincial council, said the province is on the verge of collapse with extensive assaults by the Taliban.

The Taliban are tightening hold on the province and more areas are falling to them, he added.

Naderi said while the Taliban are in control of half of Uruzgan, heavy fighting is underway in the other half with the Afghan military and security forces, whom he said lack enough capability to hold back the militants.

Spokesman for Uruzgan’s governor Dost Mohammad Nayab, however, dismissed reports on the possibility of collapse of the province, stressing that Afghan military forces are in control of all cities of the province.

Back in May, the Afghan security forces began a push to break the Taliban’s hold on a crucial southern highway through Uruzgan Province.

While the most public and urgent security concerns in the south have been focused on the fighting in Helmand Province in recent months, the insurgency has also been slowly choking the city of Tirin Kot, the provincial capital of Uruzgan.

Afghan government forces have launched operations against the Taliban in 18 provinces of Afghanistan as fighting has intensified since the start of the militants’ spring offensive in April.