200 Taliban killed in US airstrike on Herat province: Afghan officials

Kabul [Afghanistan] August 1 (ANI): At least 200 hundred Taliban terrorists were killed as a result of the US airstrike in Afghanistan’s Herat province, officials in the country’s western province have said.

The attack was carried out to prevent the Taliban’s advance in Herat, the city with the same name as the province, after the insurgent group on Thursday captured Gozara district, some 15 kilometres from the city, where airport is located, Afghanistan Times reported. “Giant B-52 plane of the US air force dropped bombs on Taliban positions, at least 200 terrorists were killed in the attack,” provincial spokesman Jilani Farhad said on Saturday.

Neither the US troops nor Taliban officials have commented on the allegations. Last week, five Taliban terrorists were also killed in airstrikes carried out by the US in several provinces in Afghanistan. This comes in wake of the drawdown by foreign troops from the war-torn country.

Over the last few weeks, the Taliban have captured several districts in Afghanistan including Takhar, the country’s northeastern  province. The Taliban seized over 193 district centres and 19 border districts, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry. The Taliban have also taken control of 10 border crossing points across the country in Takhar, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Herat and Farah provinces leading to the complete shutdown of cross border movements and trade in these areas.

The ministry further disclosed that since April 14, nearly 4,000 ANDSF personnel had been killed, over 7,000 injured and about 1,600 captured by the Taliban. As many as 2,000 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the violence, while 2,200 were injured. (ANI)