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AFGHAN-AIRSTRIKE-TALIBAN
Afghan airstrikes kill 13 including Taliban commander in Nangarhar
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Jan 4, 2021 (BSS/XINHUA) – Air raids have killed
13 militants including a Taliban group commander Mohammed Omar in Batikot
district of Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province over the past 24 hours,
said a statement of provincial government released here Monday.
Omar who served as Taliban group commander in the area, according to the
statement, was a former Taliban prisoner released from government prison
months ago.
Based on the U.S.-Taliban so called peace deal inked in February last
year, the Afghan government set free more than 5,000 Taliban inmates in
exchange for 1,000 security personnel from Taliban custody.
According to Afghan officials, hundreds of the Taliban fighters freed by
government have returned to battle ground.
The Taliban outfit which begun peace talks with Afghan government on Sept.
12 in line with the U.S.-Taliban peace deal, has rejected the government
claim, saying no released Taliban has returned to battle.
BSS/XINHUA/FI/ 1524 hrs