18 Taliban, 2 women killed in Faryab violence

MAIMANA (Pajhwok): At least 18 Taliban insurgents and two civilians have been killed in separate incidents of violence in northern Faryab province, security sources said on Monday.

Police chief Gen. Rohullah Khalil Oghli told Pajhwok Afghan News that yesterday evening, the Taliban fired seven artillery shells into the city of Maimana, with five shells hitting the airport near the headquarters of the First Brigade, and two more landing in front of the prison and the third police district of Maimana.

He added two women were killed and a third civilian was wounded as a result of the shelling in different parts of Maimana.

The source noted that public and military facilities were not damaged as a result of the artillery strikes.

Faryab police spokesman, Abdul KarimYorish told Pajhwok Afghan News that security forces attacked a Taliban base in the Khwaja Namusi area of ​​Pashtun Kot district last night after the Taliban shelling.

He added that 18 Taliban were killed and a cannon and two tanks were destroyed in the government counter attack.

He said Mufti Ismail, a senior Taliban member, and his five men were among those 18 killed. They were killed as a result of a landmine explosion that they were carrying in their vehicle.

The Taliban confirmed the government attack in Khwaja Musa area and destruction of a cannon and a tank but denied the killing of their fighters.

A credible Taliban source in Faryab, who declined to be named, denied the killing of Mufti Ismail and any of his men.

However, he confirmed that Mufti Ismail yesterday after Zuhur prayers was about to get into his car when an IED attached to his vehicle exploded and as a result Ismail and his driver, Makhdoom Ahmad, suffered light wounds.

Hr/ma

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