Top Taliban commander killed in northern Afghanistan

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - Afghan forces backed by the U.S. airpower have intensified offensive against the insurgents in the country, killing scores of militants including a Taliban shadow governor in fresh air raids, a security official said.

Mawlawi Helal, the Taliban’s self-proclaimed governor for northern Baghlan province, has been killed along with his top four commanders and up to 15 more fighters in Dand-e-Ghori district, Ikramuddin Saree, the security chief for the province, told Anadolu Agency.

The Taliban have not commented on the development.

Local media reported a few civilian casualties in the raid, but the officials have not acknowledged any.

In February, the Taliban confirmed the death of their governor for Kunduz Mullah Abdul Salam in a U.S. airstrike in the Dasht-e-Archi district.

Earlier this week, the Afghan officials also claimed to have eliminated the militants’ shadow governor for Takhar province in the same district.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has stated in a message that three al-Qaeda affiliates have been killed in an air raid in southern Zabul province.

The Taliban, on the other hand, claimed to have killed a district police chief and 10 other policemen in the Shenkai district of the province.

Zabul lies between Ghazni and Kandahar, where the Taliban are quite active, particularly in the rural parts.

Gul-e-Islam, spokesman for the provincial government, has only confirmed the death of district police chief Saifullah Hotak and one of his guards. He claimed the militants’ assault on security check posts has been repulsed.

The NATO mission in Afghanistan has announced strong desire to eliminate Daesh and other terrorist groups in 2017, however, aspiration for peace deal with the Taliban has been expressed on a number of occasion.