AFGHANISTAN: Fighting Leaves Taliban and Civilian Casualties
Posted by warvictims on July 1, 2009
Written by www.quqnoos.com
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
At least 15 Taliban militants were killed and a dozen more were wounded Monday in northern Baghlan province, an official said.
The provincial police force launched a massive operation in Baghlan-e Markazi district, 30 km north of the provincial capital Pul-e Khumri, where two locals have been killed and two others were wounded, Baghlan police chief Gen Abdul Rahman Sayed Khaili said.
The provincial police chief added that the fighting burst out after the Taliban militants were collecting money as the ‘Islamic tax – ten percent of income’ from the villagers.
A local Jehadi commander, Mohammad Jalil, said around 20 locals and police were wounded in the firefight.
They have been taken to a district hospital, he said.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said they killed three policemen and captured three more in the firefight.
He confirmed the injuries of only two Taliban fighters.
The Baghlan operation lasted almost 14 hours and left a high number of casualties, an unusual incident in the relatively stable northern region of the country.
The provincial police chief said the militants have removed their fellow fighters’ dead bodies and wounded fighters from the villages.
Taliban militants have spread their influence in Baghlan province over the past six months.
Mr Jalil added that the Taliban is present in large groups in at least six villages around the Baghlan-e Marzaki town, where he called the situation ‘horrible’.
Baghlan-e Markazi was a key power centre for the Taliban in the Afghan north ahead of the US invasion in 2001.
