Seesaw Conflict With Taliban Takes Toll in Fallen Afghan District
Mr. Abdullah, the chief executive, asked provincial officials to submit a proposal requesting additional Afghan
local police, essentially militia fighters with varying degrees of vetting who are paid by the government.
In response to criticism that military support was not sent in time, Abdullah Abdullah, the chief executive of the Afghan government,
who visited Taiwara recently after its recapture, said several provinces had come under attack around the same time.
Gen. Mohammad Nasir Hedayat, the commander of the Afghan Army corps in the west, said his men were certain
that Mullah Mustafa had aided the Taliban attack on Taiwara by hosting hundreds of their fighters from neighboring provinces "as guests" before the assault.
Security officials in Ghor say about 700 heavily armed fighters from neighboring provinces made a run for the district in Humvees
and trucks stolen from Afghan forces in Helmand Province.
TAIWARA, Afghanistan — Before the Taliban briefly overran the Taiwara District in late July, the last semblance of resistance came not from the government,
but rather from local residents who rallied around their representative in Parliament in what turned out to be a fatal effort for many.
There is only one problem: Ghor’s provincial security chief and Mr. Malikzada disagree over how to register his men formally with the government.
It is obvious that the commandos cannot stay in Taiwara for long, and officials openly admit
that what remains of Mr. Malikzada’s informal militia, more than 100 men, is their best hope of holding the district.