MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A Taliban shadow governor of the Afghanistan’s northern province of Sar-e Pol was killed during an operation conducted by the Afghan security forces, the country’s Interior Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"Last night, Afghan National Civil Order Police launched a special clearance operation to clear armed Taliban from Aadrang Barghali region, Sar-e Pol city of Sar-e Pol province … As a result of this operation, 11 armed Taliban including Taliban’s so-called governor for Sar-e-Pul province were killed," the statement said, as cited by the Khaama Press media outlet.
Shadow Governor Najibullah, alias Ataullah, was suspected of being involved in a number of terrorist activities in the province.
"After eliminating this group the security situation in this province is expected to improve," the statement continued.
The Afghan government forces are currently fighting the continuing Taliban insurgency. The situation in Afghanistan has been unstable since the 2001 US-led invasion aimed at defeating the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
