Shadi Khan Saif
18 March 2020•Update: 18 March 2020
KABUL, Afghanistan
At least two Afghan security forces and dozens of Taliban fighters were killed in deadly clashes in the northern Balkh province, an official confirmed on Wednesday.
Ajmal Fayez, a spokesman for police headquarters in Balkh, told Anadolu Agency the incident late Tuesday in the province’s Chahar Bolak district also resulted in closure of the main Balk-Jawzjan highway. He said two security forces personnel were killed in an insurgent attack on a checkpoint.
The Afghan National Army's 209-Shaheen corps said in a statement that “scores” of insurgents have been killed in Chahar Bolak in a clean-up operation. The district remains a Taliban stronghold in this part of the country.
This clash comes weeks after the Taliban pledged to keep violence levels low in line with a landmark Feb. 29 peace deal with the U.S. paving the way for the eventual yet conditional withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.
