Afghan forces retake northern district from Taliban insurgents

Afghan forces backed by air strikes have retaken a northern district from Taliban insurgents.

Forces seized the district of Kohistan, in the province of Badakhshan, which fell to Taliban fighters on Thursday.

Provincial police spokesman Sanaullah Rohani said Kohistan district was retaken by army and police forces backed by air support on Saturday.

Taliban fighters were also pushed back in Teshkan district, where they had taken a number of checkpoints.

"The Taliban suffered heavy casualties, but there is no updated information on the exact number as the area is remote and the telecommunication system weak," Rohani told Reuters.

Violence has continued across the country, after the Taliban last month kicked off their annual spring offensive, a rejection of the Afghan government's offer of peace talks. 

President Ashraf Ghani's government is under pressure on multiple fronts this year as it prepares to hold October's long-delayed elections while its security forces struggle to get the upper hand on the battlefield and prevent civilian casualties.

Officials have acknowledged that security is a major concern because the Taliban and other militant groups control or contest large swathes of the country.

Also on Saturday, a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives in an attack on a house belonging to Kandahar police chief Abdul Razeq in Spin Boldak on the border with Pakistan.

Razeq, who has a fearsome reputation fighting the Taliban and who has survived dozens of assassination attempts, was not harmed in the attack.