Taliban overruns district in northern Afghanistan - AA

Mounting clashes between the Taliban and Afghan government forces saw the insurgents overran a district in northern Baghlan province, officials confirmed on Wednesday, while intense clashes raged in the restive Helmand province further south.

Afghan authorities in Baghlan, which connects the capital Kabul with the northern provinces, said government forces conducted a "tactical retreat" from Borka, adding that an operation would be launched to recapture the district.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahed claimed in a series of tweets that Borka's center had come under the insurgents' control and that nine members of the security forces had been killed and 16 others captured.