Afghan official: Taliban fighters have overrun key district in Helmand

Taliban gunmen have overrun a strategic district in the southern province of Helmand, delivering a serious blow to government forces, Afghan officials said on Monday. Fierce fighting in the Sangin district was continuing after the insurgents took control Sunday, said Mohammad Jan Rasulyar, Helmand’s deputy governor. Only Afghan army facilities in the district had not been taken by the insurgents, he said. Casualties among Afghan security forces were high, he added, though he gave no figures.

In every district either we are stepping back or we are handing territory over to Taliban, but still, until now, no serious action has been taken.

Muhammad Kareem Atal, head of Helmand’s provincial council

Rasulyar on Sunday took the unusual step of using his Facebook page to warn President Ashraf Ghani that the entire province of Helmand was in danger of falling if central authorities failed to send help. More than 90 members of the Afghan security forces died fighting in recent days, with hundreds killed in the past six months, he said in his open letter to Ghani. Helmand is an important Taliban base as it produces most of the world’s opium, a crop that helps fund the insurgency. Sangin district has bounced in and out of Taliban control for some years, and fighting there has produced high casualties among both Afghan and international forces.