Harrakat e Islami e Afghanistan
Member of the United National and Islamic Front for the Salvation of
Afghanistan.

Takhar Province
8.00am Kabul Time / 20 December 1999
Media Release 53

Office of General Sayed Husain Anwari
Chief Military Commander of Harrakat

Member of the Supreme Afghan Leadership Council
Member of the Supreme Military Council


Balkh and Sarre Pul
Despite pledges to honour a Ramadan cease-fire, the Taleban militia has continued to launch a number of offensives in Balkh and Sarre Pul Provinces in an attempt to remove United Front troops from their bases in the North.

United Front troops, however, have not only managed to defend their strongholds but have also succeeded in dislodging the Taleban from key districts in these provinces.

In Balkh, United Front troops, after defending their strongholds, managed to recapture the district of Chapchal.  Taleban troops were pushed back to their regional base before being forced out of the area altogether. 

In another counteroffensive in Sarre Pul over the weekend, United Front troops managed to recapture the district of Do Abe.  In a battle that raged for two days, the Taleban received a drubbing at the hands of the local United Front troops. 

United Front commanders have now confirmed the capture of a number of tanks, motor vehicles and artillery.  In addition, some 15 Taleban soldiers were captured and are currently held as POWs.  Some 40 Taleban militiamen were killed in the weekend's fighting.

The liberation of these strategic districts has once again demonstrated the inability of the Taleban to maintain its grip over key points in the North.