By Xinhua,
Kabul : As many as 24 Taliban militants, including a so-called group commander, have surrendered to the authorities in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, an official said Sunday.
The insurgents laid down arms Saturday in Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar, known as the birthplace of the Taliban movement, district chief Abidullah told Xinhua.
The Karzai administration has been calling on the militants to lay down arms and join the government’s efforts to restore peace and reconstruct the war-torn country.
President Hamid Karzai, in a recent interview with the New York Times, had urged US forces to stop arresting suspected Taliban elements and their sympathisers, arguing that the arrests and past mistreatment were discouraging the rebels from laying down arms.
The US-led coalition forces Sunday said that during a search operation for a Taliban militant Saturday in Tag Ab district of Kapisa province, north of Kabul, they clashed with an unknown number of militants and killed several “anti- Afghan” radicals.
There were several civilian casualties in the battle, the military said in a statement.