Afghan district falls to Taliban: officialsThe Taliban on Saturday captured a district in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunduz province, near the provincial capital where militants scored their biggest victory in 14 years last September. Khan Abad district, which is around 30 kilometres east of Kunduz city, fell to the Taliban after they launched a pre-dawn attack on the district centre, according to local officials. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed in a statement the group’s fighters were in control of the district and police headquarters. The Taliban briefly captured northern Kunduz city in September last year, the first city to fall to the insurgents in their biggest victory in 14 years of war. After the brief Kunduz takeover, US and Afghan officials insisted that they would not allow another urban centre to be captured.

Source: Manila Bulletin August 20, 2016 13:18 UTC