Taliban fighters have taken over a television station in Afghanistan’s strategic Helmand province.
The Helmand TV and Radio station which are located in the city of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, is operated by state-run Radio and Television Afghanistan.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by its spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, Taliban confirmed its fighters had taken over the station and chased out its staff.
The incident came a few hours after the United States ramped up airstrikes against the Taliban in a bid to turn back the militants’ advances on a number of key provincial capitals in Afghanistan, a senior Afghan security official told journalists.
“Over the past three days, the US airstrikes have targeted Taliban positions around the cities of Herat, Kandahar, and Lashkar Gah.
“They strike multiple times when the Taliban try to enter the city,” the official said, adding that the three cities were considered “endangered” by Taliban advances.
