Kabul, June 01: Afghan and US-led forces say they have recaptured the Bargi Matal district located in the mountainous Nuristan province near the Pakistani border from Taliban militants.
“No shots were fired and no one was harmed during this operation,” the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan said Tuesday.
“In a joint operation of ANA (Afghan National Army) commando unit and coalition forces last night at 21:50 hours (1720 GMT) the Bargi Matal district of Nuristan province was captured by government forces,” ISAF said in a statement.
Hundreds of Taliban militants had overran the remote area on Saturday, as Afghan forces based in the area complained that requests for reinforcements from US-led forces had been ignored.
Jamaluddin Badar, provincial governor of Nuristan, told Media that the Taliban militants showed no resistance during the joint operation.
Meanwhile, the Taliban has not yet commented on their retreat from the area.
The 2001 invasion of Afghanistan was launched with the official objective of curbing militancy and bringing peace and stability to the war-ravaged country. Nine years on, however, US-led forces have failed to bring security to Afghanistan and civilians continue to pay the price.
——Agencies