The coalition said on Tuesday that the Taliban contested or controlled only 44 percent of Afghan districts as of October 2017. Although the BBC counted 399 districts in Afghanistan, the NATO-led force counted 407 districts. The BBC study said the Afghan government controlled 122 districts, or about 30 percent of the country. The study by Britain’s public broadcaster quoted a spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani playing down the findings. The BBC study also said Islamic State had a presence in 30 districts, but noted it did not fully control any of them.

Source: bd News24 January 31, 2018 00:22 UTC