26 militants killed as ASF launch airstrikes

Monitoring Desk

KABUL: At least 26 militants have been killed in northern Balkh and southern Kandahar provinces over the past 24 hours as the country’s air force has increased bombing sorties, the Afghan army spokesman Mohammad Hanif Rezai said on Tuesday.

According to Rezai, 16 militants including Mullah Yaqub, the commander of the so-called Red Unit of Taliban group, were killed after the warplanes bombarded a gathering of the armed outfit in Kushindi district of the northern Balkh province early Tuesday morning.

Calling Yaqub a notorious commander, Rezai said his elimination could be a major setback to the Taliban fighters in Balkh and neighboring Jawzjan and Faryab provinces.

On Monday evening, Afghan warplanes struck Taliban fighters in Shah Walikot district of southern Kandahar province, killing 10 insurgents and injuring four others, confirmed an army statement.

Rezai also noted that the government forces would continue to target the insurgents from the air in the country. However, purported Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the armed group has inflicted huge casualties on security personnel over the past 24 hours.

Taliban militants have intensified activities over the past couple of months. According to Javid Faisal, the spokesman for Afghanistan National Security Council, the armed group has carried out 2,804 attacks since inking a peace deal with the United States on Feb. 29 in Doha, which have claimed more than 2,000 lives including civilians.

The Afghan government has been calling for a ceasefire to initiate intra-Afghan dialogues to find a political solution to the country’s lingering war, but the Taliban rejected the demand.

Taliban top leader Shir Mohammad Abas Stanekzai, according to media reports, has rejected the Afghan government’s offer for ceasefire, saying there would be no intra-Afghan talks unless the government set free all 5,000 detainees mentioned at the US-Taliban peace deal.

Afghan observers predicted more fighting in the coming weeks despite the US-Taliban agreement.

“Taliban won’t talk to the Afghan government and instead will intensify the war when the weather gets warm,” local expert Khan Mohammad Daneshjo told Xinhua.

Demanding the release of 5,000 prisoners by Taliban is just an excuse to buy time and keep on fighting, the observer believed. (Xinhua)