Taliban Capture 58 Afghan Security Forces: Defence Ministry

Herat, Mar 18 (AFP) The Taliban have captured 58 Afghan border soldiers, the defence ministry said Monday, after days of fighting which saw dozens of troops briefly chased into neighbouring Turkmenistan in the latest blow to beleaguered security forces.

The ministry statement came after reports of days of fighting in Bala Marghab district of Badghis province, in northwestern Afghanistan near the border with Turkmenistan.

"Unfortunately, 58 BSS (border security soldiers) are captured by the enemies," a defence ministry tweet said Monday, adding "Search Ops will continue until we release them".

The ministry also said that 58 BSS had "returned home from Turkmenistan". A spokesman speaking in a video posted with the tweet said they were "back on duty", however.

Earlier this week Jamshid Shahabi, the Badghis provincial governor spokesman, said that some security forces had "tactically retreated" across the border into Turkmenistan.

He said the fighting had been going on for 10 days, with 13 security forces killed and 15 wounded. AFP could not verify the toll.

On Sunday the Taliban claimed they had captured 72 security forces in the district.

The captures come days after the latest round of talks between the US and the Taliban ended in Doha, as Washington continues to seek a way out of the nearly 18-year war.

The Afghan government has complained it is being left out of the negotiations, as many Afghans fear a premature US withdrawal could see the Taliban return to some semblance of power. (AFP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)