On Saturday, intense gunbattle broke out in the provincial capital of Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province between Taliban fighters and unidentified gunmen.
The provincial police headquarters were reportedly the scene of fights, according to local media in Pul-e-Khumeri city.
Due to the intensity of the fight, the city’s main thoroughfare was momentarily closed. Videos shared on social media showed the sound of gunfire.
Mustafa Hashimi, the province’s director of the Taliban’s information and culture division, told dpa that a clearance operation had been going on at a suspicious residence close to the provincial government buildings.
The Taliban’s spokesman for the interior ministry referred to the occupants as “rebels” in a statement. The Taliban uses the term to describe their adversaries, primarily Islamic State fighters and the anti-Taliban National Resistance Front.
A local elder from the area claimed that over a dozen wounded people were taken to the provincial hospital as fighting spread to several locations.
However, there was no official confirmation as to the number of victims.
The Taliban retook power in August amid the chaotic withdrawal of international forces from the country.
(dpa/NAN)
