<span style="color: #222222;">In a major victory for the Afghanistan government, its security forces have taken over a district which had been captured by the Taliban two months ago. A Defence Ministry spokesman said the Afghan forces retook Kiran Wa Manjan district in the northeastern province of Badakhshan. He said, the Taliban suffered heavy losses in the operation by the Afghan National Defence, other security forces and the public uprising forces.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In less than a week, the Afghan forces have retaken the Yumgan and Wardooj districts of the province, which fell to the Taliban four years ago.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Kiran Wa Manjan win is considered significant as the district houses big deposits of lapis lazuli, a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone.</span><br />