Free Republic

Afghan security forces were on the move last Saturday night in the Uruzgan province, trying to capture or kill Taliban leader Abdul Ghaffar, believed to be responsible for several attacks on coalition forces, as well as the murder of an U.N. engineer. Once cornered, Ghaffar fought to the death. The governor of Uruzgan province, Jan Mohammad Khan, told the BBC shortly after the battle that Ghaffar "was a major threat to security especially ahead of elections. His death means a lot for the security of our province." The tragedy of it all is that Ghaffar was not so very long...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Afghan security forces killed a senior Taliban commander and two of his comrades in southern Afghanistan, an official said Sunday. Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar, a former inmate at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, died in a gunbattle Saturday night in Pishi village in the southern province of Uruzgan, said Jan Mohammed Khan, governor of Uruzgan. Khan said authorities had received intelligence that Ghaffar was hiding in the village and was planning an attack against the government. Security forces launched a raid after surrounding a house, and three men, including Ghaffar, were killed in gunfire. None of...