...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
in Chamtal district in Balkh province following an attack by the group on Monday.
The source said the Public Order Police outposts collapsed after troops from an army base were moved from Bargah Turkmina village to Bazarchahi village in Chamtal district.
The decision to move the troops was made by 209 Shaheen Corps Headquarters and Balkh elders, the source said.
According to the source, the four outposts - 8, 9, 10 and 11 ‐ fell to hard boyz after being left in a vulnerable position following the withdrawal of the troops.
The source said army forces evacuated the base on Monday and set fire to the facilities.
According to sources, army bases are in place to support police bases and outposts and maintain security in an area after it is cleared of bad boys.
However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome...
Sherkhan Durani, Balkh police front man, rejected the allegations and said no outpost had fallen to hard boyz in Chamtal district.
This comes after Afghan National Army forces deserted bases in parts of Faryab last month without defending themselves against Lion of Islams, sources said at the time.
In response to the news of the troops withdrawal from some bases in Faryab, the Ministry of Defense said in August that soldiers in Faryab and other parts of the country had been pulled out of some camps - in accordance with the MoD's four-year security plan that was announced last year.
This security plan was aimed at improving security force structures over the next few years. The plan included the doubling of special operations forces from 17,000 and the upgrading of what is now a division of special forces. It also included the increase in the country’s air force capabilities and better war management on the ground.
Officials said in line with this security plan, soldiers were pulled out of their posts along the Qaisar-Almar and Maimana-Jawzjan highways and stationed at other bases in district centers.
Reports on Monday meanwhile indicated that Afghan cops suffered a heavy casualty toll as fresh waves of violence gripped several regions in Sar-e-Pul
...a city and eponymous province in northern Afghanistan, population about 500,000. Demographically it is majority Tadjik and Uzbek. There are small Pashtun, Arab, and Hazara
...a grouping of Dari-speaking people of Sino-Tibetan descent inhabiting Afghanistan and Pakistain. They are predominantly Shia Moslems and not particularly warlike, which makes them favored targets...communities, of which the Hazaras mostly don't bother anyone...
, Kunduz, Jawzjan and Samangan provinces.
Officials reported that the Taliban also suffered a heavy casualty toll.