Taliban torch two fuel tankers, hijack 7 others: sources

Taliban militants torched two fuel tankers on the Baghlan-Samangan highway on Thursday morning, sources confirmed. 

According to sources, the insurgents hijacked seven other fuel tankers and took them to Dand-e-Ghori in Pul-e-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province.

Motorists who had been traveling on the highway told Ariana News that the road had been closed to traffic for four hours due to clashes between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban insurgents.

Sources told Ariana News that the Taliban took the trucks to Dand-e-Ghori, saying that they then emptied the fuel from the tankers and sold it off for 20 AFN per liter in the area.

Local officials have not yet commented.  

This latest incident comes amid rising insecurity along the highway in recent days.

On Wednesday, at least 12 bodyguards of Mahbubullah Ghafari, a former member of the provincial council of Baghlan, were killed in a roadside mine explosion.

The incident took place in the Chashmaye Shir area on the Baghlan-Samangan road after a vehicle hit a mine on Wednesday morning.

Baghlan police confirmed the incident but further information has not yet been released. 

The Taliban have also not commented on the incidents.