Afghan security forces have thwarted a Taliban attack on the India-built Salma Dam in Afghanistan’s Herat province, the third such assault since last month on the nearly $300 million structure that provides water to several districts in the region.
Afghan defence ministry spokesperson Fawad Aman tweeted on Wednesday that the latest attack was carried out on Tuesday night. The Taliban also launched a suicide attack on the residence of the Afghan defence minister in Kabul on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring 20 more.
“The Taliban attack on Salma Dam failed! #Terrorist Taliban attacked the #Salma Dam in Herat province to destroy it last night. But, fortunately they have suffered heavy casualties and fled the area as result of counter-attacks of #ANDSF,” Aman said in a tweet.
The Salma Dam, also known as the Afghan-India Friendship Dam, is one of the most significant infrastructure projects undertaken by the Indian government in Afghanistan as part of its $3 billion reconstruction efforts. The dam on Hari river was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ashraf Ghani in June 2016.
Over the last few weeks, the Taliban have captured several districts in Afghanistan including Takhar, the country’s northeastern province.
Nationwide, the Taliban controls 223 districts, with 116 contested and the government holding 68, according to the Long War Journal, whose calculations tally with CNN’s estimates. It says 17 of 34 provincial capitals are directly threatened by the Taliban.
UNSC says it won’t back Taliban-run emirate
The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday condemned the deliberate and targeted attacks on civilians in Afghanistan and declared that it does “not support the restoration of the Islamic emirate” as the pre-2001 Taliban regime used to call itself.
In a statement, the UNSC slammed the attack on a United Nations compound in Herat last week. It said that “deliberate attacks targeting civilians, UN personnel and UN compounds may constitute war crimes”.