SHEBERGHAN (SW): Vice President Abdul Rasheed Dostum has said Afghanistan and Turkmenistan would jointly launch anti-terrorism campaigns in a bid to root-out the militants crossing the border between the two countries.
Dostum said this while talking to journalists in the restive Khamyab district in northern Jowzjan province on Saturday. He said the Taliban have fled this district and were now hiding in the border areas neat Turkmenistan. The VP added that soon clean-up operation would be launched there in coordination with the Turkmenistan.
He stated that the Turkem border force have already a number of Taliban hideouts in the border region. This comes at a time when concerns about the militants’ spillover to the Central Asian states have increased following the brief fall of northern Kunduz City.
The Afghan VP has joined the security forces on the frontline for the second time for the second time this year. Dostum arrived here after the Taliban overrun Ghormach district in Faryab province.
According to Zafar Hashimi, Deputy Presidential Spokesman, the VP has embarked on this mission following consultations at the National Security Council.
The militants have also killed Abdul Majeed Gilim, the district police chief in Ghormach, along with 13 security personnel on Saturday. This was confirmed by Khal Mirza Saboori, director for the Red Crescent Society in the Province. It is said that the district police chief was under Taliban siege for the past three days.
Mohammad Raza Razai, a spokesman for the 209-Shaheen Corps told Salam Watandar that Shamssher-15 (Sword-15) offensives have been launched in the area to eliminate the rebels. Officials say some 20 militants have been killed in these offensives so far.
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