A video released by the Afghanistan government on Twitter shows an airstrike by defence forces destroying a hideout used by Taliban insurgents.
According to the Times of India, over 30 Taliban terrorists were killed, and 17 others suffered injuries in Afghan Air Force airstrikes in two provinces on Friday.
The country’s defence ministry confirmed the facts on Sunday.
It further reports that three terrorist vehicles, six motorcycles, two bunkers and a significant amount of their weapons and ammunition were also destroyed.
Also read: Taliban trained terrorist, involved in Pulwama attack was killed at Pulwama district along with another terrorist
Witnessing a surge in violence
Afghan security forces have increasingly relied on airstrikes to push the militants back from cities, putting the lives of civilians at risk.
As stated by the government, at least 250 such insurgents have been killed, while nearly 100 were wounded in battles in several major cities over the past 24 hours.
The developments came after the Taliban made rapid territorial gains amid the US military’s final stage of withdrawal from the war-torn country.
Besieged provincial capitals by Taliban
The Taliban have besieged provincial capitals after seizing large tracts of rural territory and capturing key border crossings.
Moreover, the previous night, they fired three rockets at the airport in Afghanistan’s second-largest city, Kandhar and a former bastion of the insurgents.
The attack at the airport, an installation vital for the logistical and air support required to maintain the Taliban from overrunning, came as it inched closer to capturing at least two other provincial capitals, including nearby Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.
Views on the attack
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan government has repeatedly dismissed the Taliban’s steady territorial progress over the summer as “lacking strategic value”.
In this regard, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Miley, made a remarkable comment that the Taliban now control about half of the 419 districts centres in Afghanistan.
He added that as the Taliban seize more territory, the Afghan security forces are consolidating their positions to protect key population centres, including Kabul.
