Taliban leader, aides, surrender

KABUL: A top Taliban commander and dozens of his men have surrendered to the Afghan government as part of an arms-for-amnesty scheme, a military official said Tuesday.

Mulla Abdul Khaliq, locally-known as Haji Malam and 40 of his guerrillas on Monday surrendered to Afghanistan’s military forces in south-central Uruzgan province, Muslim Hamed, the military commander of southern region told AFP.

“He was a big Taliban regional commander. His surrender will help in security in the region,” the general said.

He said Khaliq was organising most of the anti-government insurgencies in the Uruzgan area where the remnants of the Taliban have been frequently attacking government targets and US-led troops since their regime was toppled by a US invasion in late 2001.

“Yes, he was involved in the anti-government and anti-coalition activities in the past,” Hamed said. “His surrender is a great success for the government,” he added.

The general said that the surrendered men turned in 64 AK-47 rifles and several rocket launchers, heavy machineguns and ammunitions. Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered an olive branch to rank-and-file Taliban fighters last year and said all but a hardcore of 150 militants wanted for human rights violations would be able to rejoin the political process.

A US soldier was lightly injured when his patrol vehicle hit a home-made bomb in southern Afghanistan, the US military said Tuesday.

The man, accused of making the homemade bomb, which injured the US soldier was seized on Monday in southern Afghanistan, the military said in a statement without naming the province. “Police arrested a man who confessed to the creation of an improvised explosives device that lightly wounded a US soldier,” the statement said. afp

Home | National