LASHKARGAH, Afghanistan, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Up to 200 militants have been killed over the past week as government forces crackdown on Taliban has been continuing in Nawa district of the southern Helmand province, Nawa district police chief Nafas Khan said Sunday.
The government forces backed by helicopter gunships have been targeting Taliban positions over the past week and so far up to 200 armed insurgents including several group commanders have been killed, the official said, adding that the security forces would spare no efforts to restore stability in the troubled district.
Khan, however, avoided commenting on possible casualties of security forces.
Meanwhile, Taliban militants who are in control of Nawa district over the past year, according to the outfit's spokesman Zabihullah Majahid, have foiled security forces design to recapture the isolated district.
Majahid claimed that nine security personnel had been killed over the period and the government forces offensive to recapture Nawa district has been repulsed.
Nawa, Marja, Sangin and a few more districts of the poppy growing Helmand province with Lashkargah as its capital have been the scene of fierce fighting over the past few years.
