Mohammad Hassan Saqib, spokesman for the Taliban police in Nuristan, claimed that at least 38 opposing fighters were killed during three days of clashes in the province's Kamdesh district. He said 60 other armed opposition fighters were also detained in the district during the fighting.
Saqib told Radio Hurriyat, a media outlet affiliated with the Taliban government, on Monday, September 28, that some opposition fighters were detained after being wounded in the clashes, while others surrendered. The local Taliban official added that a "clearing operation" in Nuristan's Kamdesh district is still ongoing.
The Taliban government's defense ministry also said it had killed 28 opposition fighters and detained 32 others in Kamdesh district. The Taliban described the detained individuals as "Daesh agitators and elements of evil and corruption," claiming they had crossed into Afghanistan from across the Durand Line border with the "encouragement" of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Freedom Front claimed on Saturday that parts of Nuristan's Kamdesh district and Kunar's Nari district had been "liberated" from Taliban control. The group said its fighters had seized large quantities of Taliban weapons, equipment and fortifications, and destroyed dozens of the group's drones.
On Sunday, the Afghanistan Freedom Front also said its forces had killed 37 Taliban members and wounded 24 others in clashes in Kamdesh and Nari districts. The group dismissed the Taliban's reports on casualties and detentions of opposition fighters as "fake."
The Freedom Front further alleged that the Taliban had forced tourists present in Nuristan to pose as detained fighters, recording and releasing videos of forced confessions. The two sides have so far offered conflicting accounts of the casualties and outcome of the fighting.
Source: Radio Hurriyat
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