69 Taliban militants surrender in western Afghan province: official

Sixty-nine Taliban militants have surrendered to the Afghan army in western Ghor province amid military pressure in the mountainous region, provincial governor said on Tuesday.

“A cleanup operation, launched by Afghan National Army (ANA), is ongoing in Shahrak district during the past one week. About 300 militants are surrounded by the army personnel and on Monday evening, 69 Taliban militants surrendered to army in the district,” Governor Ghulam Nasir Khaze told Xinhua.

The surrendered militants also handed over 60 rounds of guns to army officials and the army personnel also found an ammunition cache, based on a tip provided by former militants, according to Khaze.

With the former insurgents’ surrender, peace and stability would be further strengthened in several parts of the province, some 360 km west of the country’s capital, Kabul, the governor said.

The governor also called on Taliban members to surrender to the security forces in Ghor. “The security forces will have no pause in their military pressure, during the winter, and the militants will have to surrender or leave the region,” the governor said.

The province has been the scene of heavy clashes between Taliban militants and government security forces for long.

The militant group hasn’t responded to the report so far.