Helmand

Proper noun

Helmand

1. A river in Afghanistan.
   • To the west the Afghan plateau undergoes a very considerable depression, at the bottom of which lies the marshy lake, Hamoun, into which the Helmand river finds its way; but it again rises in the vast plains which lead towards Farsistan.1879, Sir Norman Lockyer, Nature, volume 19, page 41
2. A province of Afghanistan, named after the river.
   • Since late July, the Taliban have seized new territory across Helmand, defying a series of about 30 US airstrikes, and raising concern of an attack on the capital.2016 August 22, Sune Engel Rasmussen, The Guardian