13 armed groups operate in Kunar: Police chief

ASADABAD (Pajhwok): Police on Tuesday said 13 armed groups operated in eastern Kunar province, but none of them were able to capture any security position from Afghan forces.

Col. Mohammad Yousuf Mazlumyar, Kunar police chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News that 156 Taliban insurgents suffered casualties during the past three months in the province. “Kunar also face security threats like other provinces and the militants tried to capture a number of districts, but failed”, he added.

Mazlumyar said all roads connecting the provincial capital, Asadabad, were open for traffic. He said the Asmar, Ghaziabad and Ghaziabad and Narai districts had been facing security problems during the past 10 years, but security in these areas had improved following the development of Afghan forces there. He added 13 different insurgent groups were active in Kunar but none could capture any post from Afghan forces. However, he did not provide details about the rebel groups.

Mazlumyar said Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces were effective in maintaining security but they were merged into local army or national police forces based on a decision of the Ministry of Interior. He added ALP forces had been merged into national police in nine districts including Noor Gul, Sarkano, Shigal, Shalantan, Asmar, Dangam, Watapur, Chapa Dara and the provincial capital, Asadabad.

Mazlumyar said creation of a new security zone had been approved for better security of Asadabad city, by the central government. “We conducted 124 small and large scale operations over the past three months and caused huge casualties to militants,” he said. He added that 68 Taliban insurgents were killed and 88 others wounded during the period.

He claimed Pakistan still fired missiles into border areas of Kunar which sometimes caused casualties to people. About Islamic State (IS) or Daesh, he said that the insurgent group had totally been eliminated in the province. “The people of Kunar strongly support security forces and help them during operations”, he concluded.