Afghan security personnel members stand guard at a security checkpoint in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of northern Balkh province, Afghanistan, July 19, 2021. Afghan security forces have beefed up security ahead of annual festival of Eid al-Adha. (Photo by Kawa Basharat/Xinhua)
KABUL, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Fighting between Afghan government forces and the Taliban militants has been continuing amid Afghans' preparation to celebrate Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of the Sacrifice of the Muslims, which falls on Tuesday.
In the latest move against the Taliban advances, government forces have recaptured Dara-e-Suf Bala district in the northern Samangan province on Monday, police and army said.
However, the Taliban, in a response, have overrun Dihrawud district in the southern Uruzgan province without any casualties reported.
Confirming the fall of the district, Uruzgan's provincial governor Mohammad Omar Shirzad said that the security forces stationed in Dihrawud had retreated and reached the provincial capital Tirin Kot early Monday.
In addition to Dihrawud, the Taliban militants have also overrun Nijrab district in the eastern Kapisa province and Chakhansur district in the western Nimroz province over the past 24 hours.
Government forces have also evicted the militants from Malistan in the eastern Ghazni province and Surkhparsa district in Parwan province over the period, according to officials.
Taliban fighters, according to security officials, have intensified pressures on Taluqan city, the provincial capital of Takhar province, Kunduz city, the provincial capital of Kunduz province, Shiberghan city, the capital of Jawzjan province, Kandahar city, the capital Kandahar province and Ghazni city, the capital of eastern Ghazni province over the past several weeks.
A total of 967 militants, according to security officials, have been killed and more than 500 others injured over the past four days across Afghanistan.
However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has rejected the claim as baseless.
Taliban leader Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, in a message on Eid al-Adha, has called for finding political solution for Afghanistan's crisis and expressed hope for Afghans to celebrate the festival in a peaceful environment.
Afghan Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, in his message on the eve of Eid al-Adha, has denounced the ongoing war, saying "war is not the solution", and called upon the Taliban to choose for peace through negotiation. Enditem
