Violence in Afghanistan continues to keep making news. There are no signs of diffusing of the situation in the terror torn country. In a new incident, sixteen Afghan policemen were killed and another six wounded in an ambush on Thursday morning on the main road that runs from Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar.
The policemen were driving from Zabul Province towards the capital when they confronted fire from opposite side. The incident took place at Shah Joy, a district famous for notorious robberies and ambushes.
The policemen ambushed were driving from Zabul Province toward the capital, Kabul, when they came under fire at 9 a.m. at Shah Joy, a district known for robberies and ambushes, which lies on a route used by insurgents heading to the mountains. Taliban insurgents have frequently carried out attacks in Shah Joy, though improved security had reduced attacks in recent months. The Afghan policemen retaliated and killed 10 militants and injured quite a few.
In a separate incident, dozens of Taliban insurgents were killed in fighting in the Sangin district of Helmand Province, where earlier a NATO plane crashed on Wednesday, reportedly brought down by the Taliban insurgents. The crash claimed seven lives. Five of the soldiers killed were Americans, and a Canadian and a Briton were also on board. The Taliban is reported to have acquired a modern day armoury including anti-aircraft weapons and it is believed that the plane was brought down using the same.
Despite this, NATO forces in Afghanistan maintain that the operation in Helmand was going ahead in spite of the loss of the helicopter.
NATO troops are undergoing a rigorous exercise to open the route in Helmand up to the Kajaki dam this year, in order to secure the area and allow engineers to move in and repair and upgrade the dam.This is an exercise to rebuild and reconstruct Afghanistan which has seen years of violence.
Via:Nytimes
