KABUL: The Afghanistan Freedom Front has claimed that its forces captured several villages and outposts previously controlled by the Taliban following clashes in Kamdesh district of Nuristan and Nari district of Kunar.
In a statement, the Freedom Front said the fighting began on the morning of October 4, or 4 Miizan, after Taliban forces attacked positions held by its fighters. The group said its forces responded with a counterattack and continued fighting in several areas.
According to the Front, 37 Taliban members were killed and 24 others wounded during the clashes. It said the bodies of those killed and the wounded were transferred to hospitals in Nuristan and Kunar.
The group also claimed that its forces captured several Taliban outposts and seized a quantity of light and heavy weapons. It said Taliban forces withdrew from some areas after suffering casualties.
The Taliban has not yet commented on the latest claims by the Freedom Front or the casualty figures cited by the group.
However, Taliban authorities previously gave a different account of clashes in Nuristan, claiming that 28 members of the opposing group were killed and 32 others were arrested. Taliban officials have also announced arrests of individuals accused of membership in the Freedom Front.
The competing accounts could not be independently verified. The clashes come amid continued armed activity between Taliban forces and anti-Taliban groups in several parts of Afghanistan, with both sides periodically issuing conflicting claims about casualties and territorial control.