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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Clashes subside in Herat |
| 2004-08-15 |
| Fighting subsided in Afghanistan's western Herat province Sunday, a day after 21 people were killed in an attack on a disused airbase, part of a raid to oust the provincial governor, officials said. They said governor Ismail Khan's forces had defeated fighters of Amanullah Khan, a local commander who had seized parts of Shindand airbase, some 100 kms (63 miles) to the south of Herat city Saturday. Sayed Nasir Alawi, a spokesman for Herat's governor, said except for some sporadic clashes in isolated parts of Shindand district, the situation was calm. He said governor's forces had secured the airport and military installations from the attackers. Alawi also said that tension had died down in the northern, eastern and southeastern districts of Herat from where forces opposed to the governor were planning to launch coordinated attacks. Those involved in the attacks are rivals of Ismail Khan who they accuse for not accommodating them in the local administration. Turf wars in the provinces are a headache for President Hamid Karzai as Afghanistan prepares for its first presidential election on October 9, with ousted Taliban fighters running a guerrilla war against U.S.-led forces in the south and east. At least 21 people were killed in the fighting in Shindand alone, but locals and some officials privately said that the death toll was higher than reported. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Might as well get this over with: Khhhhhhhhaaaaan! |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-08-15 11:56:20 AM |