Taliban control insurgency in north from 2 Kunduz towns

KUNDUZ CITY (Pajhwok): Officials claim the ongoing insurgency and violence in northern Afghanistan Sahib districts of northern Kunduz province.

Amanuddin Quraishi, Imam Sahib district’s administrative chief, said the Taliban had established their position in the two districts, managing and directing most of their activities from there.

He said the Taliban had a strong hold over areas starting from Imam Sahib’s Jangle locality until Shahrwan and Mula Qoli areas in Dasht-i-Archi --- a 25 square kilometer area ending at Khawaja Ghar district of Takhar province.

The district chief claimed as many as 1,500 Taliban fighters, including 200 foreigners laced with heavy and light weapons, were ready to attack Dasht-i-Archi district centre and the government had no plan to prevent their attack.

Quraishi said the available security forces could not prevent the looming attack and there was a dire need for reinforcements.

Amruddin Wali, the provincial council chief, expressed his deep concern over the worsened security situation of the province. He said the Jangle area in Imam-i-Imam Sahib district had become a Taliban’s safe haven.

He claimed the Taliban had bases and strongholds in Dasht-i-Archi district since a decade but the government was doing nothing against them.

He warned if the situation remained the same the Taliban might attack and capture Kunduz again in spring and it would threaten other northern provinces.

Earlier, Gen. Muhiuddin Ghori, the 20th Pamir Military Corps commander in the northeast, said a total of 1345 Taliban militants had been killed including senior commanders since Sept. 28 when the rebels captured Kunduz City. He told Pajhwok Afghan News the insurgents were killed during “Operation Storm-11”

With Afghan military special commando unit having a central role, the operation involved ground and air forces, he had said.  

He said the slain Taliban included a number of key commanders, including their shadow district chief for Dasht-i-Archi district, Dr, Hussain, son of Rohullah, and Syed Rahman, a landmine making expert.

The two were part of a 21-member Taliban group which was eliminated last week during nighttime operations by the commandos in Dasht-i-Archi district’s Gortapa area near Kunduz City.

About two weeks ago, Afghan special forces killed 27 militants in Kanam area near Kunduz City and the dead included five key commanders namely Amir, Asmatullah, Zabihullah, Sardar Mir and Noor Mohammad.

Gen. Ghori said the Operation Storm-11 was underway in Dasht-i-Archi district, where calm had been restored and the operation would be extended to other areas near Kunduz City.

nh/ma