Several days of fighting in the northern Faryab Province have seen a major incident of apparent Taliban kidnapping, with local MPs claiming that at least 33 police are believed to have been taken prisoner.
Gunbattles were reported over the past week and a half, with a local Taliban leader reportedly killed by Afghan security forces that were trying to drive them from the area. Officials say the “disappearances” are likely related to the fighting.
Locals initially reported the “missing” police on Tuesday, but it did not get to officials until today. Taliban have yet to issue any statements on kidnappings, which is unusual for them.
The exact number is also in some doubt, with provincial chief Rahmatullah Turkistani putting the missing at 40, all Afghan Local Police (ALP) and other officials saying it was 33, with 28 ALPs and 5 national police.
Afghan "Local Police". They aren't necessarily local, and they aren't police at all in any sense that we would recognize. They are warlordist fighting detachments that have been trained, organized and equipped at US expense, but remain loyalists of their particular warlord. A large-scale defection of a couple dozen Afghan "Local Police" to a growing and strengthening Taliban, such as exists in northwestern Afghanistan, wouldn't surprise me in the least.
TO: RockyRococo
Agreed, with the exception that police are the terrorists that protect the upper half of society, the voting majority that does so love to hoard all the wealth.