Taliban militants have taken control of the Arghanj Khaw district centre in Afghanistan's north-eastern Badakhshan province after two days of intense fighting, officials said on Saturday.
At least 12 members of the security forces were killed and another five were wounded in the fighting that started late on Thursday night, provincial councillors Abdullah Naji Nazari and Abdul Rahman Talaat said.
Another five were taken hostage by the Taliban, the officials said.
By controlling Arghanj Khaw, the Taliban are now in a position to attack Badakhshan's capital Faiz Abad, the officials said.
Over the past three years, the militants have also taken control of Badakhshan's Warduj and Yumgan districts.
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The government controls or influences some 53.8 per cent of the country's districts, down from 64 per cent in 2017, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
On Thursday, Minister of Defence Asadullah Khalid warned that the Taliban would wage an intense fight in the coming year and told Afghan forces to be ready.
The Taliban continues to stage major attacks on security forces despite being engaged in talks with the United States to find a political solution to the almost two-decades-long war that has ravaged the Central Asian nation.
The group's military gains have won them considerable leverage in political talks, the peace advocacy organisation International Crisis Group says.
