KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban militants seized two towns in tumultuous southern Afghanistan, forcing police and government officials to flee, officials said Monday.
Large numbers of militants chased out police after a brief clash in the town of Naway-i-Barakzayi, in Helmand province near the Pakistan border, a local police official said on condition of anonymity.
Scores of Taliban forces overran police holed up Sunday in a compound in the nearby Helmand town of Garmser. The security forces and a handful of government officials fled, a local government official said.
The official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Taliban forces were now “moving freely” around the Garmser and the surrounding district.
“We have heard reports of two districts in southern Helmand being under control of the Taliban, and we are in contact with lots of people to build an accurate picture,” said a coalition spokesman, Maj. Scott Lundy.
“The Taliban are a credible threat, but the coalition is more than a match for them when and wherever we encounter them,” he said.
Taliban forces killed a coalition soldier and wounded 11 others in a fierce battle Monday in Tirin Kot, capital of Helmand’s neighboring Uruzgan province, a U.S. statement said. The nationalities of the soldiers were not released.
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