Taliban seizes Shia-dominated Mirza Olang in northern Afghanistan
The Taliban militants have again captured Mirza Olnag, a town mostly populated by Shia Hazara families in northern Afghanistan, which suffered a horrific carnage by the militants as well as terrorists of the Daesh Takfiri group nearly two months ago.
Local officials in the province of Sar-e-Pul said on Saturday that government forces had to retreat for tactical reasons when the Taliban blitzed the Mirza Olang Valley from the neighboring Sayad district.
“Taliban militants in an overnight operation captured seven police checkpoints in Mirza Olang area, forcing security forces to retreat,” said Khalilullah Dastyar, the provincial police chief.
Other sources said Taliban forces managed to take full control of Mirza Olang around Friday night. They spoke on condition of anonymity. The central government in Kabul has yet to comment on the news of the fall of Mirza Olang, a strategically important area located near Sar-e-Pul’s provincial capital, which goes by the same name, and also close to Kohistanat district.
Dozens of defenseless villagers, most of them from the Shia Hazara community in Mirza Olnag, were killed when the town fell into the hands of the Taliban and other militants, including those from Daesh, in August. Hundreds of families also escaped the deadly violence while the militants reportedly kidnapped 47 girls. The massacre sparked huge condemnations while it also showed how precarious the Afghan defense line was against the Taliban, a group that is mostly based in southern Afghan territories.
Dastyar, Sar-e-Pul’s police chief, said security forces were planning to launch an operation to retake Mirza Olang. However, he did not elaborate how the government would protect the Shia Muslims in the town from another massacre by the Taliban.
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