The official website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban’s shadow government in Afghanistan) posted interviews it conducted recently with the Taliban’s military commanders for the Kandahar and Laghman provinces.
In the first interview, published on October 3, Mullah Muhammad Isa Akhond, the Taliban military commander for Kandahar, discusses the mujahideen’s achievement on the battlefront in the province.
In the second interview, published on October 10, Maulawi Najeebullah Haqqani, the Taliban military commander for Laghman, discussed developments on the battlefront in the province. Maulawi Najeebullah Haqqani is an Afghan who graduated from Darul Uloom Haqqania, a radical jihadist madrassa in the Akora Khattak area of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Each commander highlights a different issue in his interview. Mullah Muhammad Isa Akhond underlines the importance improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have played in Kandahar’s Zhiri, Dand and Maiwand districts in the provincial capital region of Kandahar. Maulawi Najeebullah Haqqani discusses the extent of control the Taliban fighters now have in Laghman province.
Following are some excerpts from the two interviews:
Taliban’s Military Commander for Kandahar: "[In] Maiwand, the Enemy Forces which Came Out for the Operation Have Returned Back to Their Bases"
Q: "What is the current situation in Zhiri, Dand, Maiwand and [their] surrounding areas according to the information you have received?"
Akhond: "All praise is due to Allah; the enemy has not gained any significant ground against Mujahideen in [the] Zhiri, Dand and Maiwand districts so far in the [second half of September] of constant bombings and land assaults on Mujahideen areas.
"The enemy’s intent was to take control of [the] Sang-e-Sar, Pashmool and Sanzari areas of [the] Zhiri district from [the] Mujahideen and then move on to the southern areas all the way up to the border of [the] Panjwaee district. But Alhamdulillah, due to the zeal and bravery of [the] Mujahideen and their stiff resistance, they [the enemy] have not been able to achieve any of their goals so far. Their armored tanks and vehicles are still parked on the spot of their arrival on [the] Kandahar-Herat main highway just outside [the] Sang-e-Sar area.
"For the past two days, U.S. forces and their puppets have started a massive push into [the] Pashmool area, which is only about 2-2.5 km2, using land and air power in a bid to secure the area. They have only been successful in taking control of the Lalajan Paich region but [they] have been coming under deadly attacks even today, especially near Zirh Maktab area, in which powerful blasts detonated on them, causing them fatal losses, for which medical helicopters landed four times to airlift the dead and wounded. In these two days, the enemy has been violating all norms and have been bombing and demolishing houses, trees, fields and farms of locals in order to clear the way for themselves.
"Close to Pashmool is [the] Sanzari area, in which the enemy has forcefully taken over two civilian houses and made them into their checkposts while the rest of their military convoy has retreated back to their bases but even those checkposts were targeted by Mujahideen mortars yesterday.
"[The] Dand district is in a similar situation. The enemy has its forces stationed in [the] Nakhoni, Zalkhan and Khanjakak areas but cannot move forward any further due to the constant fear of ambushes and IEDs. The invaders also face fatal losses in this district from IED attacks on a daily basis.
"As for Maiwand, the enemy forces that came out for the operation have returned back to their bases. They have built a new base in [the] Kala Shamir area and it looks… [as though] they have ended their campaign there."
