Despite heavy clashes in Farah city, since early Tuesday, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry (MoI) Najib Danish says no government organization has fallen to the Taliban.
Earlier a security forces source said that the Taliban had taken control of a number of check posts in the city and the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and police headquarters.
President Ghani early Tuesday visited MoD and held a security meeting over Farah city and ordered forces to be deployed to prevent “enemy attacks”, a spokesman for President Haroon Chakhansuri tweeted.
Footage released on social media shows that a number of security forces’ vehicles have been torched and that the Taliban have entered a building used by the security forces.
11:00am: footage released on social media shows that helicopters have started airstrikes around the city.
12:20pm: Danish at a joint press conference with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Mohammad Radmanish said that security forces from southern Kandahar and western Herat provinces have been deployed to the province to “eliminate the threats.”
“The clashes in north and west of Farah city which is 3km far from the center is ongoing between the security forces and Taliban,” Danish said, adding that “no government organization has fallen into the hands of the Taliban yet.”
The Afghan and foreign troop’s air forces are also involved in the battle against the Taliban. “Six security forces have been killed in clashes with the Taliban and a security police official was wounded in the clashes,” he said.
In the meantime, Radmanish said that “two security forces were killed in the clashes and four others were wounded,” adding that “the situation would change by the afternoon and security forces have been deployed to the city.”
12:10pm: head of the provincial council Farid Bakhtawar told TOLOnews minutes before Danish and Radmanish’s conference that “no reinforcements have been deployed to the city and most of the government officials have fled from the city.”
“The enemies (Taliban) are moving towards the prison compound,” Batakhwar said, adding that “we will fight until our last drop of blood for Farah.”
The residents have said that the Taliban took control of a part of the NDS building, a claim which was rejected by Danish.
1:24pm: a tribal elder Abdul Star Hussaini told TOLOnews that “over 100 commandos have arrived in the city and clashes are ongoing,” adding that “both sides have casualties in the clashes.”
1:30pm: Provincial governor Basir Salangi told TOLOnews that Taliban attacked Farah city around 2am local time and suffered heavy casualties.
According to Salangi the Taliban failed to capture the NDS directorate, Farah prison, police headquarters or "other key organizations and “soon they will be thwarted from the city.”
“The situation is not concerning and with the arrival of commando forces they (Taliban) will be defeated Inshallah,” Salangi said.
4:10pm: The Resolute Support says Farah City remains under govt control. The ANDSF, supported by US Air Force, including US Air Force A-10s are on the offensive against Taliban.
Resolute Support says the Defense Ministry of Afghanistan has stated the Afghan security forces are using everything at their disposal to fight the Taliban.
