US-Afghan raid frees more than 40 from Taliban prison
KABUL: A US-Afghan military operation backed by helicopter gunships freed more than 40 soldiers and police held captive in a Taliban prison in southern Afghanistan, officials said Friday, in a major raid against the insurgent group.
The operation conducted Thursday in Nawzad district in the southern opium-rich province of Helmand comes as speculation swirls over whether Taliban supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was killed in a firefight which broke out between insurgent commanders in Pakistan.
Read more: Taliban section claims Mansoor injured in internal firefight
“Afghan special security forces... conducted a helicopter assault mission in Nawzad,” the US military said in a statement.
“After securing the prison, Afghan forces freed more than 40 prisoners comprising Afghan Police, Afghan National Army and Afghan Border Police members.”
The statement did not say how and when the security personnel were taken hostage, while it remained unclear what role US forces played in the raid.
The raid marks a rare success for Afghan forces struggling to beat back the stubborn insurgency rapidly expanding north from its southern hotbeds.
Taliban militants captured northern Kunduz city for three days in September in a stinging blow to Afghan forces, who have largely been fighting on their own since the end of Nato's combat mission last December.
The emboldened insurgents have stepped up attacks on government and foreign targets since they launched their annual spring-summer offensive - titled 'Azm' (Determination) - in late April, vowing nationwide attacks in what was expected to be "the bloodiest summer" in a decade.
But amid their rapid gains, confusion surrounds the fate of insurgent leader Mansoor, who was shot in a firefight during an argument with commanders of the divided movement on Tuesday.
The militant group has vehemently rejected claims by militant sources and intelligence officials that Mansoor was critically wounded in a shootout at a gathering near Quetta.