Afghan president: 'Consultations' ongoing amid Taliban blitz
Kabul(AP): Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says he will not give up the achievements of the last 20 years and that consultations are underway.
He delivered a brief and vague televised address on Saturday, his first public appearance in days following a major Taliban advance.
The insurgents have seized most of northern, western and southern Afghanistan and are battling government forces some 11 kilometers (7 miles) south of Kabul.
The United States is set to withdraw its last forces by Aug. 31, raising questions about the survival of Ghani's Western-backed government.
The U.S. invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks nearly 20 years ago.
The Taliban seized a province just south of Afghanistan's capital and launched a multi-pronged assault early Saturday on a major city in the north defended by powerful former warlords, Afghan officials said.
The insurgents have captured much of northern, western and southern Afghanistan in a breakneck offensive less than three weeks before the United States is set to withdraw its last troops, raising fears of a full militant takeover or another Afghan civil war.
The Taliban captured all of Logar and detained its provincial officials, Hoda Ahmadi, a lawmaker from the province, said Saturday. She said the Taliban have reached the Char Asyab district, just 11 kilometers (7 miles) south of the capital, Kabul.
The Taliban also attacked the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif from several directions, setting off heavy fighting on its outskirts, according to Munir Ahmad Farhad, a spokesman for the provincial governor. There was no immediate word on casualties.
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U'khand: 60 injured in loco train collision in Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydroelectric project tunnel
Gopeshwar (PTI): About 60 people were injured when a loco train collided with a goods train inside Pipalkoti tunnel of the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydro Electric Project tunnel in Chamoli district, officials said.
Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar said that there were a total of 109 people, mostly workers, on the train at the time of the accident, which occurred late Tuesday evening.
He said the train was evacuated and condition of all injured is stable.
The DM said that one train carrying people and another carrying materials were moving inside the Pipalkoti tunnel of the project, being constructed by THDC (India), when they collided.
The Railways in a statement said the trains involved in collision did not belong to it but were part of a local arrangement.
"It is clarified that during construction of a hydro power project tunnel construction, an unfortunate event occurred due to local trolley transportation arrangement in Chamoli district Uttarakhand. This event has nothing to do with Indian Railways. The trains mentioned in news are not Indian Railway trains. This is a local arrangement done by Tunnel Project team for transportation," it said.
According to officials, loco trains are used inside tunnels for the transportation of workers, officials, and materials for construction work.
The Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Chamoli said that 10 injured have been sent to the district hospital in Gopeshwar for treatment.
The 444-megawatt hydroelectric project is being built on the Alaknanda River between Helang and Pipalkoti in Chamoli district.
The project is to generate 111 megawatts of electricity through four turbines. It is targeted to be completed by next year.
