KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan security forces backed by U.S. air strikes have retaken a southern district from the Taliban as part of a drive to weaken the insurgents’ hold on Helmand province and push them back from around its capital, Lashkar Gah, officials said on Monday.

A two-day offensive, supported by numerous air strikes from U.S. F-16 fighters and Apache helicopters, launched on Saturday saw security forces take the district center of Nawa, to the south of Lashkar Gah, officials said.

More than 50 fighters were killed and vehicles and equipment were destroyed, said defense ministry spokesman General Dawlat Waziri. Over 100 improvised explosive devices were also disabled, Task Force Southwest, the U.S. Marine Corps-led training and assistance mission in Helmand said in a statement.

The operation, which comes as the United States weighs sending more troops to Afghanistan, will continue with security forces moving further south along the main road to the town of Garmsir, officials said.

The recapture of Nawa district, which lifted a serious threat to transport links into Lashkar Gah, reflects renewed focus by Afghan forces and their U.S. advisers on Helmand, an insurgent heartland that is source of much of the world’s illegal opium.

“Nawa is a major north-south route for transportation, so as people travel north, they would typically travel through Nawa. From that perspective it’s a very significant geographic location,” said Col. David Gibbs, the Task Force Southwest officer in charge of police training and assistance.

The operation also removed a threat to civilian aircraft landing in Bost Airfield, just outside Lashkar Gah.

The Taliban, fighting to re-establish strict Islamic rule in Afghanistan and drive out international forces backing the government in Kabul, control large stretches of the province and have targeted Lashkar Gah.

It was not possible to independently verify the defense ministry’s casualty figure and no comment on insurgent losses was immediately available from the Taliban.</s>Kabul: An Afghan official says the country's security forces have driven the Taliban out of a key district in southern Helmand province from where they had been threatening the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.

Defence Ministry's spokesman, Daulat Waziri, today said that the battle to recapture the district of Naway had been fierce. He says more than 50 Taliban fighters were killed and five security forces were wounded.

Naway is located just 16 kilometers, or 10 miles, from Lashkar Gah, and had been a staging arena for militant attacks on the city.

Government troops also captured a large cache of ammunitions and guns. The Taliban did not immediately comment on reports of the district's fall.

US and NATO troops are in Helmand to assist Afghan security forces when needed.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan forces have retaken a key southern district from the Taliban while in a western province, insurgents on Monday snatched three officers from their car, including a woman, and killed them, officials said.

The country's security forces drove the Taliban out of Naway district in southern Helmand province from where they had been threatening the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, said Defense Ministry spokesman, Daulat Waziri.

The battle to recapture the district had been fierce, with more than 50 Taliban fighters killed and five security forces wounded, he said. Naway is located just 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Lashkar Gah, and had been a staging arena for militant attacks on the city.

Government troops also captured a large cache of ammunitions and guns. The Taliban did not immediately comment on reports of the district's fall. U.S. and NATO troops are in Helmand to assist Afghan security forces when needed.

Separately, in western Herat province on the border with Iran, three border police officers were snatched from their vehicle and killed by the Taliban, said Jelani Farhad, the provincial governor's spokesman. A female officer was among the dead.

The officers were driving to their office in the district of Kushk in Herat province when they were ambushed by Taliban, dragged from their vehicle and shot, said Farhad.</s>The Afghan security forces recaptured the control of Nawa district from the Taliban insurgents in southern Helmand province.

The control of the district fell to Afghan forces after days of clashes and months after it was captured by the Taliban insurgents.

Provincial governor’s spokesman Omar Zwak confirmed that the Afghan forces seized the control of the key areas of Nawa district on Saturday, including the center of the district where the Taliban insurgents had established important fighting positions.

Zwak further added that the foreign forces based in Afghanistan are also providing support to the Afghan security forces, mainly providing air support.

He also added that the clearance operations are still underway in the district and one of the main challenges on the way for the clearance of the district is roadside bombs planted by the Taliban insurgents.

There are no reports regarding the casualties during the clashes so far with the Taliban group yet to comment regarding the fall of the district.

Helmand is among the relatively volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban insurgents are actively operating in its various districts and often carry out insurgency activities.

Follow Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan News Agency on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Stay updated via RSS</s>Afghan troops have recaptured a district from Taliban militants in the volatile southern province of Helmand, a government official said.

A large-scale operation to retake Helmand's Nawa district began early on July 15 with Afghan troops moving in from three different directions as international forces provided air support, Omar Zowak, the provincial governor’s spokesman said.

Zowak said security forces seized the district center and other key areas in Nawa, which was overrun by the Taliban nine months ago.

According to Zowak, at least 12 Taliban militants were killed and two Afghan policemen were wounded in the operation in Nawa, some 15 kilometers south of the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.

The Taliban has a strong presence in Helmand.

Earlier in July, a U.S. soldier was killed and two others were wounded in a suspected Taliban attack in Nawa.

U.S. military officials said the soldiers had been conducting an operation with partnered Afghan security forces when they came under fire.

About 13,000 U.S. and allied troops in a NATO-led force are deployed in Afghanistan.</s>Afghan security forces supported by US air power have retaken the center of volatile Nawa district from the Taliban in southern Helmand province, US officials said Monday.

Backed by strikes from F-16 fighters and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, Afghan troops began the two-day operation Saturday near the city of Lashkar Gar, which is the capital of Helmand.

Officials said the operation to retake the center of Nawa would improve security in Lashkar Gar, particularly at an airfield just outside the city.

The US military touted the advance against the Taliban as a significant success for the Afghan security forces, which have struggled to contain a resurgent Taliban in recent years.

Afghan police Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Omar said the US air support was an important part of the operation.

"The air support provided by the coalition forces increased the morale amongst the Afghan uniform police personnel," he said in a statement.

The operation comes as Pentagon chief Jim Mattis finalizes plans to present a new Afghanistan strategy to President Donald Trump in a bid to reverse what US generals call a "stalemate" at best.</s>The Afghan national defense and security forces seized control of the district center of Nawa in southern Helmand province, nine months after it was captured by the Taliban insurgents.

According to the local government officials, the control of the district center fell to Afghan forces during the operations earlier this morning.

The officials further added that clearance operations are still underway by the joint forces, mainly focusing on clearing the mines planted by the Taliban insurgents.

This comes as General Radmanish, MOD deputy spokesperson said Sunday that the clearance operation is ongoing in the south and north parts of Nawa district aiming to completely clear the district of brutal Taliban presence. He said ANDSF are now controlling Nawa district and are clearing mines and IEDs planted by Taliban to protect civilian lives.

He also added that the government will soon resume public services, and open clinics and schools in this district. Residents of this district were deprived of public services over the past year due to the Taliban presence in this district.

Helmand is among the relatively volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban insurgents are actively operating in its various districts and often carry out insurgency activities.

Follow Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan News Agency on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook. Stay updated via RSS</s>KABUL: Afghan security forces have retaken a southern district from the Taliban as part of a drive to weaken the insurgents' hold on Helmand province and push them back from around its capital, Lashkar Gah, officials said on Monday.

A two-day offensive launched on Saturday saw security forces take the district centre of Nawa, to the south of Lashkar Gah, killing more than 50 fighters and destroying vehicles and equipment, said defence ministry spokesman, General Dawlat Waziri.

The operation would continue with security forces moving further south along the main road to the town of Garmsir, officials said.

The recapture of Nawa district, from where the insurgents threatened Lashkar Gah, reflects renewed focus by Afghan forces and their U.S. advisers on Helmand, an insurgent heartland that is source of much of the world's illegal opium.

The Taliban, fighting to re-establish strict Islamic rule in Afghanistan and drive out international forces backing the government in Kabul, control large stretches of the province and have targeted Lashkar Gah.

It was not possible to independently verify the defence ministry's casualty figure and no comment on insurgent losses was immediately available from the Taliban.</s>Afghan security forces have recaptured a southern district in the restive province of Helmand from the Taliban, as part of Kabul’s campaign to push the militant group from one of the key heartlands of insurgency and narcotics production.

In a two-day operation launched on Saturday, the security forces took the district center of Nawa to the south of the provincial capital city of Lashkar Gah, killing more than 50 militants and destroying their vehicles and equipment, Defense Ministry spokesman, General Dawlat Waziri, was cited as saying by Reuters on Monday.

The casualties announced by the Defense Ministry could not be immediately verified.

The security forces plan to continue the operation southward along the main road to the town of Garmsir, officials said.

The Taliban control large stretches of Helmand Province, which is considered the source of much of the world's illegal opium.

Afghanistan has been gripped by violence and insecurity since the United States and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror in 2001. Many parts of the country remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of foreign troops.

During the past 16 years, the Taliban militants have been conducting terrorist attacks across the country, killing and displacing civilians.

In addition, the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, which is mainly active in Syria and Iraq, has recently managed to take recruits from Afghan Taliban defectors.

According to the mid-year report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan published on Monday, 1,662 people were killed and more than 3,500 injured in the war-torn country in the first half of 2017, showing a sharp rise in the civilian casualties.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s president on Monday, April 25, called on Pakistan to battle the Taliban rather than try to bring them into peace talks.

Ashraf Ghani made the remarks during an address to parliament a week after a Taliban assault on the Afghan capital, Kabul, killed 64 people and wounded another 340.

Afghan officials have long accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye to the Taliban, the leadership of which is widely believed to be based in the Pakistani cities of Quetta and Peshawar, near the border.

Ghani said there are “no good or bad terrorists, they are just terrorists,” and that “Pakistan must understand that and act against them.”

Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States have been trying to revive peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban in recent months, but have made little progress.

“We don’t expect Pakistan to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table,” Ghani said. “What we want is for Pakistan, based on the four nations’ agreement, to keep its promises and launch military operations against insurgents.”

Dawa Khan Menapal, deputy spokesman to the president, said that there has been no contact with the Afghan government regarding the peace talks from the Pakistani side.

“We have made our decision and the decision was announced by the president today,” he said. “Now it is Pakistan’s turn to fulfill their promise according the decision of the four nations meetings.”

Islamabad has denied past allegations that it aids the Taliban and says its influence over the group has been overstated.

Pakistan has been waging a military offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region since 2014, But critics have long accused it of fighting its own insurgents while covertly supporting groups that attack neighboring Afghanistan and India.

In a surprise twist three relatively senior Taliban representatives living in self-imposed exile in the Middle Eastern state of Qatar arrived in Pakistan for meetings at least initially with Pakistani intelligence officials, according to two diplomats, neither of whom wanted to be identified by name or nationality because they feared the revelation would anger Pakistan.

Two of the Taliban officials who arrived here were identified as Shahbuddin Dilawar, an ethnic Pashtun, who was a charge d’affaires in Islamabad during the Taliban’s rule and Jan Muhammed Madni who served as the Taliban’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

The identity of the third Taliban official was not immediately known.

The Taliban have maintained an office in the Qatari capital of Doha for several years although it was officially closed down after the Taliban demanded to be recognized as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Kabul has steadfastly refused to allow the Taliban to be recognized under that banner saying it would be tantamount to recognizing them as a government-in-exile.
Officials announce that Afghan security forces have retaken Nawa District from the Taliban.