The Battle of Tarinkot (2016) occurred when the Taliban launched an offensive on the Afghan city of Tarinkot.
Battle
On 7 September 2016, the Taliban attacked Tarinkot. The government forces defending the city, who were low on food and ammunition, managed to halt the offensive. The Taliban did not manage to capture the prison of the city.[2] By the next day, militants had pushed to within hundreds of meters to the police headquarters and the governor's compound. Government officials began evacuating to the Tarinkot Airport.[3] The Taliban then surrounded the city and stated that they had captured more than a dozen government checkpoints.[4] On 9 September, the Afghan Ministry of Defense announced that sporadic fighting was only in the city's northeastern neighborhood and over 80 Taliban militants had been killed in the past 24 hours.[citation needed] The Afghan military was supported by air strikes. Government officials stated on 10 September that the fighters had been pushed back to 15–20 km from the government centers, and the Taliban stated that they shot down a government helicopter, which the government denies.[5] An offensive was launched by the military on the 15th anniversary of 9/11 to clear the outskirts of Tarinkot of militants.[6]
References
- ^ "Taliban storm into southern Afghan city". AFP. 8 September 2016.
- ^ Stanekzai, Mohamed (7 September 2016). "Taliban offensive nears Afghan provincial capital". Reuters.
- ^ "Afghanistan: Taliban pushes into Uruzgan's Tarinkot". Al Jazeera. 8 September 2016.
- ^ "Afghan forces encircled by Taliban in provincial capital, officials say". Reuters. 9 September 2016.
- ^ "Afghan security forces plan push to relieve besieged provincial capital". Reuters. 10 September 2016.
- ^ "Afghan forces mount offensive around besieged southern city". Channel NewsAsia. Mediacorp News Group. 12 September 2016. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.