Taliban captures remote district in northwest Afghanistan
11:55 29/03/2011 KABUL, March 29 (RIA Novosti) - Taliban militants captured a remote district in Afghanistan's northeastern Nuristan province on Tuesday, local police reported.
Provincial police chief Sham ul-Rahman Nuristani said about 300 militants stormed into the mountainous Waygal district on the border with Pakistan early in the morning, forcing a small contingent of local police to flee.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the capture was carried out "with minimal resistance from government forces."
There were no NATO troops in the area at the time of the attack.
On Saturday, Taliban kidnapped over 50 Afghan police in the eastern Kunar province. The police were divided into small groups and taken in an unknown direction.
Mujahid said on Sunday that the captured policemen were the Taliban's captives and their fate would be decided by the Shura, the Taliban's supreme council.
He said, however, that many captives could be released if they publicly pledged never to cooperate with the Afghan government and police.
Sources in the local administration claim that 19 of the 50 captives have already been released.
Despite the consolidated efforts by the Afghan government and the international coalition troops, the Taliban, which was toppled in a 2001 U.S.-led campaign, continues to stage regular attacks on provincial government officials, police and civilians and plant roadside bombs targeting Afghan, U.S. and NATO troops.
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