Taliban capture Afghan district on Pakistani border
* Nuristan governor confirms authorities lost Barg-e-Matal district
* Suicide attacker blows himself up near military caterer
* Nuristan officials still trying to confirm if Mullah Fazlullah killed
KUNAR/KABUL: Taliban overran a remote district in eastern Afghanistan after days of heavy fighting in the area, a provincial police official said on Saturday.
The Taliban hoisted their flag in the district centre, which they also seized briefly last year, after forcing police to retreat, Afghan provincial officials and the Taliban said.
The battle started earlier this week in the Barg-e-Matal district of Nuristan province, a remote area bordering Pakistan, when hundreds of Taliban stormed the area administrative headquarters, said Qasim Payman, police chief of the province.
The police force in the area has tactically retreated from the district after days of fighting, he told Reuters, adding there were no signs of reinforcements despite repeated requests. Afghan authorities often use the term tactical retreat when Taliban overrun police forces and capture districts. Nuristan Governor Jamaluddin Badar said Afghan forces had retreated in order to prepare for a counter attack.
Loss: We have lost the district to the Taliban... but will push them back soon, he said.
Hundreds of armed villagers, known as the Lashkar-e-Qaumi had joined forces with police, Payman said. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the group now controlled the district after days of heavy fighting.
Meanwhile, a NATO airstrike killed a Taliban shadow governor and several of his associates in the Baghlan province on Friday, according to a NATO statement. Afghan security officials confirmed the incident and said several key Taliban commanders were among the dead.
Suicide attack: Separately, a suicide attacker blew himself up on Saturday near a military caterer, causing no casualties. The explosion took place east of Kabul, close to a warehouse and supermarket run by Supreme Food Services, supplier of food to the foreign military, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP.
It was a suicide attack and the attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body, he said.
It was not immediately clear what the target of the attack had been, he said, adding the attacker, who was on foot, may have detonated prematurely.
Also on Saturday, Taliban ambushed an Afghan police convoy with a roadside bomb and gunfire in eastern Afghanistan, killing five officers before fleeing NATO aerial bombardment, an official said.
Two Taliban were killed and up to six wounded in the battle on Friday in Paktia province, said Ghulam Dastagir, the deputy provincial police chief.
He said the convoy was headed toward the Dandi Pathan district when one vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb blast, killing five officers and wounding the district police chief. Taliban opened fire after the blast, triggering a gunbattle that lasted several hours before NATO aircraft were called in.
Farther north, officials in Nuristan province were still trying to confirm reports that Mullah Fazlullah was killed in several days of fighting between security forces and the Taliban. Participating villagers said they had killed head of the Swat Taliban, Fazlullah. Pakistani Taliban leaders say Fazlullah was in Nuristan but they believe he is still alive.
Meanwhile, NATO announced on Friday that Afghan and international troops acting on intelligence information found and destroyed two bomb-making and weapons storage facilities this week in Kandahar province, and battled with Taliban who tried to defend them. agencies
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan