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Notorious militant commander killed
AT-KABUL: Notorious Taliban commander Mirza was killed in retaliation by the Afghan National Police (ANP) on late Tuesday in the volatile Ghazni province.
According to a media statement issued by the Ministry of Interior on Wednesday here, the militant commander was killed along with his two comrades in Qarabagh district of the southern province. The ministry said that the Taliban leader was killed in the failed attack on a police check-post.
“Two other insurgents were wounded in the yesterday attack. Two motorbikes and two AK-47s were left behind by the insurgents while fleeing the battlefield. Commander Mirza was involved in different subversive activities, particularly in attack on police check-posts in Qarabagh district,” the statement said.
Growing insurgency has irked residents of Ghazni. In the first week of June, the Taliban had killed 12 passengers that they kidnapped in the province. Twelve passengers, mostly police and soldiers, were taken after being identified on the Kabul-Kandahar and Ghazni-Paktika highways. All of them were killed on June 7.
Last month, nine people were killed and more than a dozen others, including a judge, wounded in a group attack on the appellant court building in Ghazni. The head of appellate court was also wounded in the suicide bombing and ensuing firefight.
The Islamic State, also known as Daesh, has also fixed eyes on the province.
Two months ago, the acting provincial chief of the High Peace Council (HPC) said that Daesh was offering good salary to recruit fighters in Ghazni.
Khalilullah Hotak told Afghan Pajhwok News that Daesh is active in the province and recruiting people to disrupt the security.
Confirming presence of Daesh terrorists in the province, the provincial council member Amanullah Kamrani said the Islamic State was constructing check posts in certain parts of the province to destabilize Ghazni.
“The activities of Daesh fighters have been observed in Andar, Gilan and Giru districts of Ghazni. They want to influence people and control the areas,” Pajhwok Afghan News quoted Kamrani. The provincial council member added that Daesh terrorists were equipped with sophisticated weapons. He warned that if the group was not eliminated then it would be difficult for the security forces to defeat Daesh in later stage.
He furthered that the Islamic State fighters were also seen in Nawa district of the province which has been in control of the Taliban for over the past 14 years.
Governor of Ghazni province, Mohammad Aman Hamim, did not comment on presence of the Islamic State, but said the provincial administration had not received any report regarding recruitment of people by Daesh.
