THE Taliban captured a district administrative headquarters in the north of Afghanistan yesterday following days of fighting.

Sari Pul Provincial Police spokesman Amanuddin Aman said hundreds of insurgents had attacked the Kohistanat district HQ from different directions early in the morning.

Provincial police chief General Mohammad Asef Jabarkhail said that reinforcements had not been sent to the district because Kohistanat is 60 miles from the provincial capital.

“Right now we are working on a plan to launch a joint operation to retake the district from the Taliban,” he said, adding that one police commander and seven of his men had been forced to surrender.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said that the group’s gunmen now controlled the entire district and had seized police vehicles, weapons and ammunition.

The latest round of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban is due to be held this Friday.