54 freed in Afghan raid on Taliban prison in Helmand
At least 54 people have been released from a prison run by Taliban in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand, where militants are in control of the majority of districts.
Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said on Tuesday that the prisoners were freed after a commando unit raided the prison in Musa Qala district late Monday night.
Zwak said there were 32 civilians, 16 police, four soldiers and two military doctors who had been locked up by the militants.
Afghan special forces spokesman Jawid Saleem also confirmed that dozens of people, including security personnel and civilians, were freed from the notorious detention center.
Helmand is one of the most embattled provinces in southern Afghanistan. More than 80 percent of its territory is controlled by Taliban.
Separately, at least nine Afghan army soldiers were killed on Monday after Taliban militants attacked checkpoints in the northern province of Kunduz. According to provincial council member Mohmmad Yousif Ayoubi, dozens more were injured in the attacks on at least two checkpoints in Imam Saheb district of the province.
Figures by the United Nations show that the number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan’s long-running conflict hit a record high of 1,692 in the first six months of 2018.
General John Nicholson, the top commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has expressed readiness to initiate direct talks with Taliban in an attempt to end a 17-year war in Afghanistan. Reaffirming Nicholson’s comments, US officials said the talks would start without any preconditions and that the future of US and NATO forces would be discussed.
In February, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called on Taliban to join peace talks “without preconditions.” In return, Ghani said Taliban would need to recognize the Afghan government and respect the rule of law.
Taliban have repeatedly declared that they would not enter talks until US-led foreign troops left the country.
Despite the continued presence of foreign troops across the country, Taliban have been involved in widespread militancy, killing thousands of civilians as well as Afghan security forces and displacing tens of thousands of people across the country ever since.
Daesh Takfiri terrorists have also taken advantage of the ongoing chaos in Afghanistan to establish a foothold in the country and recruited some members from among Taliban defectors.
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