ANSF death toll reaches 100 due Talibans fresh offensive in Helmand province
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KABUL: Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand is on the verge of falling to the Taliban, its deputy governor has warned. At least 100 government troops have been killed in last two days of clashes. Confrontations between Taliban forces and government soldiers have intensified in several key districts of Helmand, fuelling concern that the province is on the brink of a security collapse. The situation led Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar, the provincial deputy governor, to plead publicly for reinforcements from the capital, Kabul. "I know that bringing up this issue on social media will make you very angry," Rasoolyar wrote in a Facebook post addressed to President Ashraf Ghani. "But I cannot be silent any more... as Helmand stands on the brink... Ninety men have been killed in Gereshk and Sangin districts in the last two days." The highly unusual public plea from a serving official recalls the events that led up to the fall of the northern city of Kunduz in late September. Taliban militants seized that provincial center for several days before government troops wrested back control.(Khaama)
