Afghan opposition forces Sunday flushed out Taliban troops from several key hilltops around the northeastern town of Taloqan, opposition spokesman Mohammad Habeel said.
He said troops loyal to opposition commander Ahmad Shah Masood seized the hills in a dawn attack northeast of the provincial capital of Takhar.
The Taliban, which control most of the country, are consolidating their positions around the opposition's key bastion of Taloqan, which fell to the Taliban early this month.
Masood has vowed to retake Taloqan, which lies on a main supply route bringing in opposition's military and fuel shipments from neighboring Tajikistan.
The strategic hilltops were captured by the advancing Taliban recently.
"These positions serve as the city's security belt. We can easily attack Taloqan if we hold them," Habeel said.
"The Taliban can hold the city if they have them," he added.
Habeel said Masood supporters rebuffed several counter-attacks by soldiers of the religious militia to retake these posts.
Speaking from Takhar, he said "36 Taliban soldiers were killed and their several vehicles destroyed."
Masood's nearest post outside Taloqan was seven kilometers (4.3 miles) to the east towards Farkhar gorge where his forces had retreated under the Taliban's heavy military pressure, Habeel said – KABUL (AFP)
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