DUSHANBE, Nov. 11 (IslamOnline
& News Agencies) - Afghanistan's Northern Alliance opposition forces on
Sunday captured the northeastern city of Taloqan, the deputy ambassador for the
Afghan government-in-exile in the Tajik capital told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"It happened in the afternoon. For us it is a strategically very important
city in the north of the country," Makhaiuddin Mekhdi said. "The
success of the operation was the result of coordination between the forces of
the Northern Alliance."
The envoy said he had no
information about any Taliban losses.
Taloqan, the capital of the region of Takhar - where fierce fighting was raging
Sunday - was captured by the ruling Taliban in September of last year.
Securing Takhar would virtually complete the opposition sweep across much of
northern Afghanistan over the past four days. The alliance took the key city of
Mazar-e-Sharif on Friday and has since claimed to have more northern provinces.
Building on the momentum that
has seen five northern provinces fall into opposition hands in recent days,
Northern Alliance fighters were this weekend pushing south through the central
provinces of Bamiyan and Baghlan which lie to the west and north of the capital,
Kabul.
A simultaneous drive west from Mazar-e-Sharif captured Qala-i-Nau, the
provincial capital of Badghis province, an opposition spokesman said.
The U.S. and Britain have
warned the Northern Alliance against capturing the Afghan capital of Kabul.
DUSHANBE, Nov. 11 (IslamOnline
& News Agencies) - Afghanistan's Northern Alliance opposition forces on
Sunday captured the northeastern city of Taloqan, the deputy ambassador for the
Afghan government-in-exile in the Tajik capital told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
