KABUL, Aug 3: The Taliban militia closed in on Afghan opposition capital of Mazar-i-Sharif today after making a spectacular breakthrough in the north of the country, official and independent sources said.Taliban radio and sources in the area said Taliban troops were advancing from the east and west of Mazar-i-Sharif, the only Afghan city not under the strict Islamic control of the militia.
Local commanders in the key district of Balkh, only 60 kms west of the city, have joined the militia's ranks and raised white flags, the symbol of allegiance to the purist movement. The new assault in northern Afghanistan came after the Taliban took the northern provincial capital of Shiberghan yesterday. Sheberghan, 120 kms west of Mazar-i-Sharif, was the native stronghold and military operations base of opposition warlord general Abdul Rashid Dostam.
Taliban-run Shariat radio said gains had placed the army "on the threshold of victory" in their aim to capture the remaining one-third of Afghanistan. TheTaliban took Kabul in September 1996. They briefly held Mazar-i-Sharif in May 1997 but were forced out with heavy casualties.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
