Junood al Fida, a relatively new Balochi group that has sworn allegiance to the Taliban and claims to be loyal to al Qaeda, claims to have taken over the Registan district of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.
The Long War Journal has some background information on Junood al Fida. They say, "Junood al Fida has repeatedly said that it is integrated into the Taliban's operations in southern Afghanistan. In August, the Baloch jihadist organization released a video showing its fighters launching raids in the Shorawak district of Kandahar province. The raids were part of the Taliban's "Operation Khayber" offensive.
In August, the group also released a eulogy for its slain leader, Abdul Hafeez, who was from the Baluchistan province of Pakistan. According to the statement, which was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, Hafeez had waged jihad for four decades. He fought against the Soviets, the Northern Alliance, and against US, Western, and Afghan forces after 9/11. Junood al Fida described him as "a well-known commander in Zabul, Helmand & Kandahar Province of The Islamic Emirates Of Afghanistan," the official name of the Taliban."
In a statement released online, the Taliban said, "the heroic Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate launched an operation early morning hours and engaged the enemy forces inside Registan district center in close range combat, sparking heavy clashes which lasted till around midday.
The cowardly enemy fled towards Shorabak district after dozens were killed and wounded which led to Mujahideen liberating the district center, unfurling the sublime white flag of Islam over it and bringing the entire district under their complete control.
Officials add that the wreckages of 4 APCs and a pickup truck along with 4 hireling corpses were also left behind by the enemy along with a large amount of weapons and ammunition which was seized in the successful operation."
Afghan officials denied these claims, but pictures released on Twitter by Junood al Fida shows that heavy fighting did occur in Shorabak. These pictures show heavily damaged buildings and burned out vehicles.
Pictures are shown below:
The Long War Journal has some background information on Junood al Fida. They say, "Junood al Fida has repeatedly said that it is integrated into the Taliban's operations in southern Afghanistan. In August, the Baloch jihadist organization released a video showing its fighters launching raids in the Shorawak district of Kandahar province. The raids were part of the Taliban's "Operation Khayber" offensive.
In August, the group also released a eulogy for its slain leader, Abdul Hafeez, who was from the Baluchistan province of Pakistan. According to the statement, which was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, Hafeez had waged jihad for four decades. He fought against the Soviets, the Northern Alliance, and against US, Western, and Afghan forces after 9/11. Junood al Fida described him as "a well-known commander in Zabul, Helmand & Kandahar Province of The Islamic Emirates Of Afghanistan," the official name of the Taliban."
In a statement released online, the Taliban said, "the heroic Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate launched an operation early morning hours and engaged the enemy forces inside Registan district center in close range combat, sparking heavy clashes which lasted till around midday.
The cowardly enemy fled towards Shorabak district after dozens were killed and wounded which led to Mujahideen liberating the district center, unfurling the sublime white flag of Islam over it and bringing the entire district under their complete control.
Officials add that the wreckages of 4 APCs and a pickup truck along with 4 hireling corpses were also left behind by the enemy along with a large amount of weapons and ammunition which was seized in the successful operation."
Afghan officials denied these claims, but pictures released on Twitter by Junood al Fida shows that heavy fighting did occur in Shorabak. These pictures show heavily damaged buildings and burned out vehicles.
Pictures are shown below:
-- Caleb