Afghans See More Battles Between Gov't Forces, Taliban in February

The restless Taliban outfit has carried out series of attacks since early February and the deadliest one took place in the eastern Kunar province on Feb. 23.

Afghan National Army soldiers take a break and eat a meal in Kabul. Salem-News.com photo by Tim King

(KABUL Xinhua) - The conflict-ridden Afghanistan has witnessed a rise in Taliban-linked activities and government forces operations to dislodge militants from their hideouts and tighten security across the country before elections slated for April. 5

According to the Taliban claims and government sources, hundreds of fighters from both sides have been killed over the past 28 days, an estimate termed by independent sources as exaggeration.

The restless Taliban outfit has carried out series of attacks since early February and the deadliest one took place in the eastern Kunar province on Feb. 23 which left 21 Afghan soldiers dead and four others missing who have reportedly been taken by militants to unknown place.

In attempts to destabilize the government, the hardliner militants launched two days later a suicide attack in the southern Uruzgan province, leaving at least nine people dead and about 50 others injured, according to local officials.

The deadly suicide attack happened inside a roadside hotel in Uruzgan's provincial capital Trinkot on Tuesday night and almost all the victims were civilians.

Taliban's attack on Afghan national army unit in Ghazi Abad district of the eastern Kunar province on Feb. 23 which left 21 soldiers dead has prompted Afghan security forces to increase pressure on Taliban fighters elsewhere in the conflict-ridden country.

A day later on Feb. 24, the security forces launched operations against Taliban militants in Hisarak district of the eastern Nangarhar province adjacent to Kunar, killing 58 militants in two days, concluded Tuesday, according to security official sources.

Interior Ministry had also said that 76 more Taliban militants had been killed during a series of security operations conducted by the Afghan army, police and the country's intelligence agency in Kunduz, Faryab, Logar, Laghman, Kunar Paktika, Herat and Helmand provinces during two operations that ended on Feb.25.

The tug of war and Taliban-linked militancy has also claimed the lives of eight service members of the NATO-led forces so far in February, according to ICasualties, a website tracking U.S.-led coalition forces casualties in the war on terror.

Officials with the security authorities have vowed to mount pressure on Taliban and besides taking revenge on the Kunar massacre to ensure security for the coming April presidential and provincial councils elections.