Taliban blockaded in Helmand: ALP official

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): A senior Interior Ministry official on Wednesday said the ongoing “Operation Zulfikar” had denied safe passage to Taliban insurgents in southern Helmand province and the fighters were left with no option but to put up resistance.

Deputy General Commander of Afghan Local Police at the Ministry of Interior, Brig. Gen. Abdul Hamid Hamidi, told reporters in Lashkargah, the provincial capital, that security forces had mounted immense pressure on the Taliban.

The insurgents started fleeing Helmand with the launch of the Operation Zulfikar, but they could not flee because all exit routes for them had been blocked, leaving them with no option but to put up resistance, the official said.

Hamidi said the outcome of the operation would become known soon, saying security forces spearheading the offensive maintained good cooperation and they had air support.

He said Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel were fighting on the frontline along with other security forces in the operation and the under-resourced ALP had emerged as a strong force.

He said the ALP presence in the operation had considerably assisted national security forces. The Taliban were scared of ALP personnel because they could recognise them and were familiar with the region, he said.

Hamidi said 3000 ALP personnel performed duty across Helmand and they had been able to effectively keep security for communities they served despite being under-resourced.

However, residents of Marja district said they were concerned about Taliban’s resistance against security forces.

Resident Akhtar Mohammad told Pajhwok Afghan News the situation had deteriorated in Tharkha Nawar and Sistan areas due to clashes between security forces and armed militants.

An ALP member in the area, wishing anonymity, told Pajhwok Afghan News leadership of the operation had been given to police for the last three days, losing the entire Sistan area to insurgents.

But a tribal elder in Sangin district, Alishah Khan, said government forces were in control of southern parts of the town and insurgents had fled. He said residents in the area lived a normal life these days. However, he said the operation was yet to be extended to troubled northern parts.

A Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi claimed Afghan security forces had been defeated in the Operation Zulfikar. He said security forces had abandoned much of the areas, a claim rejected by local officials.

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