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| Afghanistan |
| Ismail Khan captures Chaghcharan |
| 2001-10-12 |
Forces loyal to Afghan warlord Ismail Khan said on Thursday they had captured the town of Chaghcharan, straddling a vital road linking Kabul to the western city of Herat. "At 5.30 this morning (0100 GMT), we captured the capital of Ghor province Chaghcharan and also captured a large number of Taliban militiamen," Seyyed Nasir Ahmad Alavi a spokesman for the group, told Reuters by satellite telephone. Chaghcharan lies about 250 km (155 miles) east of Herat and 350 km (218 miles) west of Kabul. The capture of the town would be a major blow to the Taliban after the Northern Alliance said on Tuesday that a group of Taliban commanders had changed sides and closed the Bagram-Bamiyan road to their former comrades. The Bagram-Bamiyan road was the Taliban's main supply route from Kabul to their forces in northern Afghanistan. The road to Herat is the only other supply route from Kabul to the north. Alavi said Chaghcharan had been seized after a week of fighting in the area. He said clashes were continuing along the main road around the towns of Shahrak and Tulak as Taliban forces withdrew westwards towards Herat. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |