Taliban militants overran a district in the north-eastern Afghan province of Nuristan after overpowering local forces, while three Nato soldiers died in other attacks in the same region, officials said Tuesday. Over 300 heavily armed Taliban insurgents attacked the Waigal district early Tuesday and captured the main town of Shamsul, provincial police chief Rahman Zahid said.
"We had to retreat because we did not have enough men or weapons to defend the district against over 300 Taliban fighters," Zahid told the German Press Agency dpa. The locally recruited policemen scattered to villages surrounding the district, he said. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement sent to media that their fighters captured 12 armed police and 19 vehicles during the operation. The rest of the police fled the area after short resistance, he said, adding the Taliban had hoisted their flag in the centre of the district.