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KABUL (SW): The country’s spymaster has said that the Taliban exploited security forces’ distraction to briefly overrun Kunduz as the government got busy in rooting-out pro-Daesh in the east and northeast of the country.
Mohammad Masoum Stanikzai, Chief for the National Directorate of Security (NDS) told this to the Mashrano Jirga (upper house) on Monday as he briefed the house about ongoing situation in the restive Kunduz province. Answering senators’ questions, Stanikzai said the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF) are committed to root-out Daesh from the country.
The NDS chief in the meantime apologized from Kunduz residents over the ordeal they went through following the brief fall of the provincial capital to the Taliban last week. He asserted that ‘some’ regional countries are supporting the Taliban.
It is vital to note that some media reports had earlier suggested that to prevent Daesh from expanding towards the Central Asia, Russia was pondering to support the Taliban in Afghanistan.
In the meantime, Taj Muhammad Jahid, the Interior Minister, has stated that in a bid to avoid civilian causality, the cleansing operation in Kunduz is going on slowly. Jahid told the house that the Taliban have taken positions in the residential areas. Civilian causality would increase if cleansing operation is not conducted carefully, he added.
ENDS