Taliban militants have captured two district centres in northern and central Afghanistan, as Afghan forces fight to contain a growing insurgency across the country.
The Taywara district fell to the Taliban early on Sunday after several days of fighting between militants and Afghan security forces, Mohammad Mahdavi, deputy chief of the provincial council for Ghor, told dpa.
The central province of Ghor shares borders with two insecure provinces, Farah in the north-west and Helmand in the south, both of which are known as strongholds for Taliban insurgents, Mahdavi said.
"The district was under Taliban attack since Thursday," Mahdavi said, adding that nearly 70 Afghan security forces were killed and around 30 others wounded.
According to Mahdavi, members of local police forces suffered the heaviest losses.
The district's capture opens a corridor for the Taliban, allowing free movement to the west and north.
Another district in north-western Faryab province also fell to the Taliban early Sunday.
"A large number of Taliban (attacked) Kohistan district centre from several directions around 9pm on Saturday," said Javed Bedar, a spokesman for the Faryab governor.
According to Bedar, both Afghan security forces and Taliban militants suffered casualties, but there was no information yet on exact numbers.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that the militants had captured both Taywara and Kohistan district centres, claiming in a Twitter post that they killed scores of Afghan security forces and captured of large amount of weapons.
In the past days, Afghan forces have been fighting the Taliban on several fronts: in Kunduz and Baghlan in the north, Badakhshan in the north-east, and Helmand and Kandahar in the south.
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