[ToloNews] The Defense Ministry said that Taliban
 ...Arabic for students ...
attacks have been pushed back in Laghman
...Afghan province with a population of about 445,600, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. During the invasions of Alexander the Great, the area was known as Lampaka, wich is apparently Olde Macedonian for Laghman .The city of Mihtarlam serves as the bucolic capital of the province. The population is half Pashtun, the remainder Tadjik and Pashai. It had a repution for great wealth until it was conquered in the tenth century by Abu Mansur Sabuktigin. He conquered it and set fire to the places in its vicinity which were inhabited by infidels, and demolishing the idol-temples, he established Islam in them, He marched and captured other cities and killed the polluted wretches, destroying the idolatrous and gratifying the Musulmans. After wounding and killing beyond all measure, his hands and those of his friends became cold in counting the value of the plundered property. After that it was mostly notable for the production of dirt, rocks, and holy men...
province, but some provincial council members said that the fighting continues in the outskirts of Mehtarlam city as well as in Alisheng and Alingar districts.
Army chief Gen. Yasin Zia visited Laghman on Sunday and said that the situation was under control now that commando forces have begun operations.
Clashes meanwhile are underway in 11 provinces.
"The operations by Afghan forces led to the clearance of widespread areas on the outskirts of Mehtarlam and Alingar district" said Fawad Aman, a front man for the Ministry of Defense.
The Taliban captured the center of Dawlat Shah district and then attacked Alisheng and Alingar districts as well as Mehtarlam city, the center of Laghman. At one point they came close to the prison in Mehtarlam, which is almost 5 kilometers from the center of the city. Local sources said that "dozens" of outposts fell to the Taliban in the last five days.
"The situation is like the past in Laghman. There are no changes felt," said Abdullah, a resident of Mehtarlam.
"Even outposts in Mehtarlam that are located on the way to Alisheng and Alingar districts have fallen," said Gulzar Sangarwal, a member of Laghman's provincial council.
The Ministry of Defense said that at least 140 Taliban were killed and 75 more were maimed in counterattack operations by Afghan forces in Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
, Zabul, Kandahar, Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
, Badghis, Balkh, Faryab, Jawzjan, 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 communities, of which the Hazaras mostly don't bother anyone...
, Baghlan, Kapisa and Kabul provinces in the last 24 hours.
The Taliban has rejected these figures provided by the ministry.
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