Taliban kill 5 members of newly formed militia

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - The advancing Taliban killed five members of a newly formed anti-Taliban militia in Afghanistan's Parwan province amid ensuing violence nationwide, officials confirmed on Friday.

Security sources in the province told Anadolu Agency that the incident took place in the Shinwari district of the province on Friday morning.

According to the district police chief, Mohammad Maiwand, the anti-Taliban militia of the local men was ambushed on the main Parwan-Bamyan highway, leaving five members of the force killed and five more injured.

To push back the advancing Taliban, the Afghan government has turned to the local armed militias at grassroots levels with tainted past of rights abuses.

Key Afghan politicians with a background of anti-Taliban or anti-Soviet resistance are converging in their areas of influence to mobilize forces for a likely faceoff with the marching Taliban.

Supportive of the idea is the new hawkish Defense Minister Gen. Bismillah Muhammadi, who served as a key commander of the former Northern Alliance against the Taliban in the 1990s.

In the wake of the US withdrawal, the Taliban are on a nationwide offensive, overrunning more than 30 districts, while the Afghan security forces claim killing more than 100 insurgents in counter-terrorism operations daily.

“129 #Taliban terrorists were killed and 35 others were wounded as a result of #ANDSF operations in Kunar, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Zabul, Balkh, Helmand, Kunduz, Baghlan & Kapisa provinces during the last 24 hours,” said the Defense Ministry on Friday.

The government forces also claimed to have taken the Ahmad Aba and Syed Karam districts in the Paktia province back from the Taliban.

- UN waiver for Taliban negotiators

On the heels of a stalled peace process and an uptick in violence, the UN Security Council has granted a further 90-day exemption from sanctions for Taliban negotiators in Doha. “UNAMA (UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) hopes this time will be used to make significant progress in#Afghanistan peace talks,” according to a statement.

On their part, the Taliban further claimed to have captured the Shamalzay, Guzargah, Andkhoy, Qarmqul, and Qarghan districts.

According to the group’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed, the Taliban’s deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani has directed the Taliban across the country to behave well with the general public in areas falling to them.

“In the current sensitive situation and continuous series of conquests, the district and provincial governors should pay attention to the instructions of ‘esteemed Amir ul-Momineen, Maulvi Sahib’ (Taliban chief Mullah Hebatullah) and the officials of the Military Commission as they counsel you to not act cruel or be arrogant,” the group’s propaganda site al-Emarah quoted Haqqani as saying.