Posted on 04/21/2005 9:25:15 AM PDT by SmithL
Two senior members of Afghanistan's former Taliban regime surrendered to the government on Thursday under an amnesty offer, a provincial governor said.
The officials -- Mullah Mohammad Naseem, the former Taliban governor of Zabul province, and Haji Mohammad Akhtar, former police chief of Farah province -- surrendered following month-long talks, the governor of Helmand province said.
"They've joined the government's national reconciliation program," the governor, Mullah Sher Mohammad, told Reuters.
The Taliban have been waging an insurgency since being overthrown by U.S.-led forces in late 2001 for refusing to hand over al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. cities.
The government is seeking to coax rank-and-file Taliban to give up their fight but the amnesty offer does not include 150 of the movement's senior leaders, accused of militant violence or of having links with al Qaeda.
Fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and his die-hard supporters have shunned the talks and vowed to keep on fighting Karzai's government and foreign troops in Afghanistan.
Negotiations on the pair's surrender were brokered by officials in Helmand province, from where they both come, said the governor.
Akhtar was until recently involved in attacks on government and U.S.-led forces, said another official, who declined to be identified. The commanders' fighters are believed to be either on the run or still involved in the insurgency.
Another Taliban commander in Helmand, Abdul Wahid Baghrani, surrendered this month.
Guerrilla activity has picked up after a winter lull but activity is down on past years, fueling speculation the Taliban may be struggling to find recruits and resources.
In another sign of problems for Afghanistan's insurgents, U.S. forces blasted rebel positions with bombs, rockets and artillery, killing at least 12 insurgents, after rockets were fired at a U.S. base in southeastern Afghanistan.
Helicopters, aircraft and artillery were used to respond to the four rockets fired without effect at the Salerno base in Khost province on Tuesday night, the U.S. military said in a statement.
"We were able to see the launching point of the rockets and we brought everything we had to bear on it," U.S. army Major J.R. Mendoza said in the statement.
"They shot at us with rockets and we responded with artillery, fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft," he said.
The military said two 500-pound bombs, 10 rockets, and hundreds of rounds and shells were fired at the rebels, killing more than a dozen.
The clash was one of the bloodiest in recent months in Afghanistan, where more than 18,000 U.S.-led troops are pursuing Taliban and al Qaeda militants.
Woo hoo! Get 'em boys!
Rounding up bad guys ~ Bump!
pong
What no ping!
Sorry. :~ (
I realized afterward I was leaving out the group. Bad.
self-flaggelation will now commence.........
LOL!
pong
WHERE'S THAT ONE-EYED TALEBUNNY?
Uhhhhh,
Morford is over there -> http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1387400/posts
No Not That! Reading that would be cruel and unusual punishment!
No thank you.
:-p
This brings tears to my eyes... tears of happiness.
LOL
I love waking up to good news.
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