KABUL (INP): With the support of local residents, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) were successful in driving the Taliban insurgents away from two districts of Kunduz province, local officials said.

According to Sarwar Hussaini, the spokesman for the Kunduz police chief, residents of Chahar Dara and Khan Abad districts of the province have started uprisings against the Taliban, helping the ANSF take control of the province. “The Taliban have been driven to the remote areas of the districts,” he said. “The ANSF is now preparing for operations in those areas.” According to the Ministry of Interior (MoI) spokesman Sediq Sediqqi, two ANSF soldiers lost their lives during the operations that killed 20 Taliban insurgents and wounded 30 others. Sediqqi added that Khan Abad, Chahar Dara and Dasht-e-Archi districts are now clear of insurgents.

Hundreds of Taliban insurgents attacked Chahar Dara and Khan Abad districts last week, forcing tens of families to flee their homes. he ANSF operations that followed the attacks resulted in heavy insurgent casualties.   Insurgent attacks have dramatically increased in the northern parts of the country in the recent months. On Friday, the Afghan Minister of Defense Bismillah Mohammadi asserted that the prolonged election process has allowed the Taliban to advance their offensives all around the country, causing the bloodiest clashes in the past three months and affecting millions of people in one way or another.

Concerns over the spread of insurgency rise as the foreign troops prepare to withdraw from the country after a full security handover to the ANSF by the end of the current year. About 350,000 ANSF and 50,000 foreign troops are currently active in the country.

INP/AK