KUNDUZ CITY (SW) – The Taliban are using small quadcopters for surveillance and identification of their targets in Kunduz province.
A number of well-placed sources in Kunduz province told Salam Watandar that three nights ago, one of the group’s drones was shot by security forces as it was filming the provincial security department. According to the source, the Taliban have been carrying out their attacks for several months after filming their targets with such gadgets.
The source said that at least four such drones have been seen over the skies in Imam Sahib district of the province. The source added the security forces targeted the group’s two drones in the central areas of Kunduz city last year. The drones are usually equipped with cameras and small bombs.
According to the source, the car bomb attack on the border force battalion in Imam Sahib district of the province was carried out after the shooting by these drones.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Yusuf Ayoubi, head of the Kunduz provincial council, has also confirmed these reports, however, spokesman for the governor of Kunduz said that rockers were used in that attack.
Security analyst Atiqullah Amarkhail said in this connection the drones used by the Taliban were capable of carrying small bombs and could target from up to 200 meters. Javed Kohistani, another military expert, said the Taliban had carried out rocket attacks in Helmand province several years ago after filming via the same drones.
Kunduz security officials have not commented on Taliban using quadcopters, but Kunduz governor’s spokesman Esmatullah Moradi said last year a drone had crashed in the city center. He acknowledged the Taliban have advanced weapons and drones.
The Taliban have not yet commented on the use of the drones.
Kunduz is one of the most insecure provinces in the northeast of the country, and Taliban fighters are active in most of its districts. Dasht-e-Archi, Chahar Dara and Imam Saheb districts are under the control of the Taliban in Kunduz, and most of the group’s attacks are carried out from these three districts.
In these three districts, the local Taliban are accompanied by Uzbek and Chechen fighters.
ENDS
