Taliban fighters capture district center in W. Afghan province bordering Iran

Taliban fighters have captured a district center in Afghanistan’s western province of Farah bordering Iran, officials said on Monday. A large group of fighters captured the center of Anar Dara district on Sunday night after hours of fighting, Reuters quoted Naser Mehri, a spokesman for the provincial governor, as saying. However, police and intelligence service forces were still holding out in their headquarters, Mehri said. The announcement came days after local officials said the Taliban had inflicted heavy losses on Afghan special forces in another district of Farah. The government has long struggled to impose control in the poor and isolated region.