• Tools:
• Save |
• Print |
• E-mail |
• Most Popular

Militants 'overrun Afghan town'

Adjust font size:

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Hundreds of Taliban militants overran a southern Afghan town that British troops left after a contentious peace agreement in October, destroying the government center and temporarily holding elders hostage, officials and residents said Friday.

The assault, days after a Taliban commander was killed outside the town of Musa Qala, raises doubts about the future of the peace deal, which has been criticized by some Western officials as a NATO retreat in hostile Taliban territory.

Two residents of Musa Qala estimated that between 200 and 300 Taliban fighters had overtaken the town. They said the fighters took weapons from the police on Wednesday and destroyed the town's government center late Thursday.

Col. Tom Collins, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, said an "unknown number" of militants had entered Musa Qala. He said late Friday that no NATO-led forces were in the town.

British forces are based in Helmand province but left Musa Qala in October after a peace agreement was signed between elders and the Helmand governor. According to the deal, security was turned over to local leaders, while NATO forces were prevented from entering the town.

Some Western officials complained that the deal put the area, which had been a center for clashes between British troops and resurgent Taliban militants, outside of government and NATO control.

Asadullah Wafa, the governor of Helmand province, said the militants destroyed part of the compound housing the district's governor and police. "People have closed down the shops this morning and those living near the area have moved out of fear," he said.

Mohammad Wali, a resident of Musa Qala who estimated that between 200 and 300 fighters were in town, said residents feared fighting between NATO and militants would resume. Raz Mohammad, another resident, said the Taliban had taken about 12 town elders hostage. Collins said there were indications the elders were now safe.

Late last month, NATO said an airstrike outside of Musa Qala destroyed a Taliban command post, killing a senior militant leader and a number of his deputies. NATO said the January 25 airstrike "was outside the area of the agreement" and did not violate it.

However, Wafa said the Taliban told a gathering of elders last week that they considered the airstrike a violation, and it appeared the assault was in retaliation.

Violence in Afghanistan has risen sharply in the last year. Some 4,000 people died in insurgency-related violence in 2006, according to a count by The Associated Press based on numbers from Afghan, NATO and U.S. officials.

A senior Western official in Kabul recently criticized the Musa Qala deal, saying "it should not be replicated," following suggestions that the deal was reached with pro-Taliban village elders.

The official acknowleded that the Afghan government had largely lacked control of Musa Qala, "but there is a difference between not having it, and excluding it by government deal." The official spoke only on condition he of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject.

However, Mark Laity, a NATO spokesman in Afghanistan, defended the deal.

"We recognize that there are risks in this, we believe that tribal elders need to be given a chance to produce a local solution to a local problem which fits with the culture of the Afghan people and has the support of the government of Afghanistan," Laity told reporters last week.

Laity at the time said there were "clear signs" the deal was a success, "but the final judgment is yet to be made."

American Gen. Dan McNeil on Sunday will replace British Gen. David Richards as the commander of more than 40,000 NATO-led troops in Afghanistan. Military officials have said privately that the change of command will mark a new approach in dealing with resurgent Taliban militants.

In western Afghanistan, meanwhile, militants attacked border police from three directions, officials said. Gen. Abdul Rahman, head of Afghanistan's border police, said 20 militants died in the subsequent clashes. U.S.-led coalition troops killed as many as seven militants who were setting up a rocket in eastern Paktika province, a statement said.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Winds near 165 mph created 'moonscape' in Florida Stunned residents, working in the rain Saturday, poked through debris for pieces of their lives deposited the day before by central Florida storms and a tor ...

---

• Former military chiefs urge talks with Iran
• Cranes also victims of storm
• Singer Kylie splits with boyfriend
• Tornado rates EF-3 on new scale
• Police: Chewbacca strikes back

• Truck bomb kills 128 in Baghdad market
• Retired U.S. brass: Iran war would be 'disastrous'
• Bush in lion's den to woo Democrats
• Deadliest bird flu hits English farm
• Cowboys' bad boy gets hall of fame nod

• Modern Living: Home Savings (:50)
• Bible survives deadly tornado (1:27)
• Tornado without warning (1:04)
• Woman describes run from rubble (2:19)
• Now In The News (Updated: 1:36 p.m. ET)