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Taliban Regrouping in South Afghanistan
Remnants of Afghanistan ousted Taliban regime have begun regrouping near the southern border with Pakistan, Afghan officials said on Tuesday. Obaidullah, security chief of the southern border town of Spin Boldak, said minor clashes had been reported recently between Afghan forces and suspected members of the Taliban. He said small groups of Taliban fighters, led by local commander Hafiz Abdur Rahim, were operating in Kandahar, the former stronghold of the radical Islamic militia, and other southern provinces. "They are trying to persuade people to join a jihad. They carry out guerrilla activities in these areas and then flee to Pakistan," he told Reuters. Running back to their protected areas. This will keep happening until those areas are cleaned out. Afghan officials said last week that four people had been killed and one wounded in an armed clash between Afghan forces and Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan. Two Taliban fighters were arrested after the firefight. The Taliban's resurgence in the border regions comes despite the presence in Afghanistan of thousands of U.S.-led foreign troops pursuing the war on terror. SEE: protected area - Pakistan The Taliban regime was overthrown in late 2001 when the United States pounded Afghanistan with massive air strikes as part of its campaign against the al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden. Many Taliban fighters took refuge in the rugged borderlands with Pakistan. In recent days posters and pamphlets have appeared in border villages calling for a jihad against foreign troops. Residents of Spin Boldak said last week that posters threatening death to anyone who supported the U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai appeared to be the work of Taliban supporters. Khalid Pashtoon, a spokesman for Kandahar governor Gul Agha Sherzai, told Reuters there was still a risk of militant attacks in the southern region. "We have put our forces on alert because of the risks of attacks on foreign forces," he said. But Fazal Deen Agha, a senior security official in Spin Boldak, said the Afghan government would not let the ousted Taliban become a real threat. "There are clear indications of Taliban presence in the region. But Afghan people don't support them," he said. "We will continue our hunt against the Taliban." Open season, no bag limit. Bounty paid for head vermin, also for vermin heads. Posted by: Steve 2003-01-14 |
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