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The Afghan Taliban overran two district centers in the east while Afghan forces regained control of another which has changed hands several times over the past year. Afghan officials confirmed that the district of Zana Khan in Ghazni was overrun, while the Taliban claimed to have seized Gomal in Paktika province. Afghan officials then said that security forces regained control of Jani Khel in Paktia, however the Taliban has denied that claim. A member of Ghazni’s provincial council said that the Taliban killed four policeman and confiscated two “tanks” (likely up-armored HUMVEEs) and several Ranger pickup trucks after  storming the Zana Khan district center . Taliabn spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that a Taliban force inflicted “multiple enemy casualties” and “lots of weapons/equipment seized” during the operation. The Taliban  claimed it  “took over the center of the district of Gomal and its checkpoints in Paktika province during an intense fighting following an offensive last

An Afghan official says at least 12 civilians were killed and three others wounded when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the eastern Paktika province. Elias Wahdat, the provincial governor, said Thursday that the blast took place in the Urgun district at around 11 a.m. "The blast was very powerful," said Wahdat, noting that it killed all 12 passengers aboard the vehicle and wounded three others. Wahdat added that seven of those killed were madrassa (religious school) students, and that the roadside bomb was planted by the Taliban. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban insurgents often use roadside mines to target convoys carrying security forces across the country.

An Afghan man fills a container from rainwater during the snowfall on the outskirts of Mazar-i- Sharif, Afghanistan, February 4, 2017. (Photo by AFP) At least 50 people have been killed after their homes were buried under a massive avalanche in a remote village in eastern Afghanistan, officials say. The tragic incident occurred in Hafsi village in Barg-e-Matal district of Nuristan province, which is bordered on the east by Pakistan. According to Mohammad Omar Mohammadi, a spokesman for the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA), “50 bodies” have so far been recovered. Mohammadi said a separate huge avalanche had almost entirely covered another village in the area and rescue teams were trying to reach it despite deep snow and freezing weather. Meanwhile, the provincial governor, Hafiz Abdul Qayoum, confirmed that at least 16 other people had been injured in the incident, warning that the death toll could rise as a rescue operation was on Sunday evening still in p