Defense Ministry and Local Govt rejects fall of Sangin to Taliban

The Ministry of Defense and the Local Government in Helmand have rejected the control of Sangin district has fallen to Taliban.

According to a statement by MoD, the Taliban claims regarding the capture of a military base in Sangin and fall of the district are baseless.

The statement further added that the brigade of the 215^th Maiwand Corps is still based in Sangin as the district is active and there are no major security concerns.

MoD said the militants are based in the outskirts of the district and the security forces are busy confronting the militants who are sporadically conducting insurgency.

However, the provincial military council in a statement said the security forces were forced to tactically retreat from the market of Sangin due to months of heavy fighting that incurred major losses to the local residents.

The source further added that nearly 300 militants have been killed during the clashes over the past months and the decision to tactically retreat to around 2 kilometers away from the market was taken to prevent further losses to the residents of the area.