At least 100 Taliban fighters have been killed in airstrikes conducted by Afghan Airforce in northern Faryab province of Afghanistan. According to a statement released by the 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan Military in the North, the militants were killed during three airstrikes conducted in the bordering regions between Garziwan and Bulcharagh districts.
Four top commanders of the Taliban were killed in the airstrikes including Mawlawi Jabir alias Bilal, Mawlawi Abdul Baqi alias Omar, commander Shirzad and Matiullah. The terrorists were killed while they were in transit from one location to another based on information acquired from surveillance drones as well as human intelligence in the vicinity of Hamam Chashma area. At least six Humvee armored personnel carriers, 64 motorcycles, and five minibusses were also destroyed in the airstrikes.
The Shaheen Corps also added that the military commission chief of the Taliban for the North, identified as Mawlavi Matiullah, was among those killed which makes the blow on the Taliban even bigger as a state of disarray has already been observed in the recent months among the ranks of the organization.
The air bombardments against the Taliban comes as the top delegation from the group prepares to hold talks with Afghan government officials in Russia in early September. It is, however, unclear if the airstrikes and the heavy casualties suffered by the Taliban in the north will deter the appearance of the organization’s top brass in the Moscow talks to seek to remedy the close two decades war in Afghanistan.
