Taliban guerrillas staged a series of raids in western Afghanistan on Sunday, blowing up the gate of a jail and freeing 23 insurgent prisoners, officials said.
Ousted in a US-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban have made a comeback in recent years, dealing heavy losses to Afghan and foreign forces and carrying out brazen attacks on key locations, including in the capital.
Insurgents attacked four police posts leading to the centre of Farah town early on Sunday, said Mohammad Younus Rasooli, the governor of western Farah province, bordering Iran. "They kept the police preoccupied and the same time blew up the gate of Farah's jail, which resulted in the escape of 23 prisoners," Rasooli told Reuters by phone.