*ISLAMABAD – The Ay-Khanoom port in the Dasht-e Qala district of Takharprovince has collapsed into the hands of Taliban militant group late onWednesday night, a local official confirmed.*
Khalil Asir, a spokesman for Takhar police told Ariana News that the portwas fallen to the hands of Taliban insurgents after the Afghan forcesretreated the port and moved back into the center of Dasht-e Qala district.
The AyKhanoon port was under Taliban fighters siege for nearly two weeks.
“The Afghan soldiers had launched operation and broken up the siege, butthe forces had halted the operation without coordinating with the localofficials and they retreated the bases without any further clashes with theTaliban militants,” Asir said.
According to Asir, the reinforcements were headed to the Ay-Khanoom for theretake of the port.
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Meanwhile, Afghan security forces said that the forces retreated from thedistrict due to the lack of assistance and reinforcement troops.
The Taliban militants group in a statement claimed that its fighters haveseized control of the Ay-Khanoon port including the Commissary and threecheckpoints.
