Afghanistan War News Updates -- December 27, 2015

Al Jazeera: Afghanistan army suffers losses in Helmand

Fighting results in deaths of 21 soldiers in Taliban stronghold, where government has lost control over four districts.

Army officials in Afghanistan say 21 soldiers have been killed by the Taliban in Helmand province during the last 48 hours.

Fighting between Afghan soldiers and the Taliban has been particularly heavy around the town of Sangin, which is under Taliban control.

Helmand is a traditional stronghold of the Taliban and a major centre for opium that US and British troops fought for years to control.

Afghanistan War News Updates -- December 27, 2015

SAS kill 20 Taliban in siege of Sangin as photo emerges which appears to show British heroes on daring night raid -- Daily Mail
Roadside bomb blast claims four lives in Helmand -- Khaama Press
Taliban Presence in Afghanistan’s Helmand Worries Western Supporters -- Sputnik
Afghan official: IS, militia beheading each other's fighters -- AP
A head for a head: Afghan militia decapitate four ISIS fighters - after extremists killed their own men in the same brutal way -- Daily Mail
In Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, pro-government armed men behead IS militants to revenge -- Khaama Press
Taliban deny talks with Russia on IS in Afghanistan -- AFP
Taliban says no contacts with Russia over Islamic State -- Reuters
Russian Ambassador brief Karzai on Russia-Taliban information exchange reports -- Khaama Press
Residents stranded as battle for Helmand intensifies -- RAWA
Pakistani army chief leaves for Kabul to discuss peace talks -- AP
Pakistan Army Chief in Kabul for Crucial Talks -- VOA
Pakistani army chief visits Kabul amid Taliban's revival -- DW
Pakistan army chief in Afghanistan to revive stalled peace talks with Taliban -- Al Bawaba
Afghan opposition group pressures Ghani on security crisis -- Reuters
Asia’s Least Developed Country Is Afghanistan: UN Report -- RAWA News
Need to know, 2016: Fighting ISIS and in Afghanistan -- Air Force Times
Analysis: The Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan -- Dawood Azami, Al Jazeera
Why capturing Helmand is top of the Taliban’s strategic goals -- Borhan Osman, The Guardian
Amid Taliban surge, a witness to Afghanistan's endless war -- Scott Peterson, CSM