Press TV, January 7, 2008

Taliban chief chosen Musa Qala ruler by Hamid Karzai

Mullah Abdul Salam had been Uruzgan Governor General during the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan.

The newly appointed district chief of Musa Qala, Mullah Abdul Salaam, center, shakes hand with a Britain military official, part of the International Security Assistant Force (ISAF) at a joint base of the ISAF and Afghan forces in Musa Qala district of Helmand province on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008. (AP Photo)

Afghan president appoints an important Taliban commander as the new governor of Musa Qala district in the north of Helmand province.

Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, appointed Mullah Abdul Salam the new governor of Musa Qala on Monday, IRNA quoted Helmand Governor General, Assadullah Wafa as saying.

Mullah Abdul Salam had been Uruzgan Governor General during the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan.

Wafa added that during the operation to retake Musa Qala in February, Mullah Abdul Salam switched sides and helped Afghan and NATO troops with his 300 men to succeed in the mission.

Born near Kajaki, to the Alizai tribe, Mullah Salaam first learnt to fight against the Russians, later becoming governor of the southern province of Uruzgan during the Taliban era of the mid-Nineties. He continued to serve as a field commander during this period and, according to senior British sources, was implicated in the massacre of ethnic Hazaras and Uzbeks in Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998.

The Times, Jan.11, 2008

He further noted that Musa Qala's new police chief has been appointed and other Afghan officials will soon be chosen.

Last year, British soldiers gave up Musa Qala to Taliban following direct negotiations with the Afghan rebels.

Musa Qala is in northern Helmand province, the world's largest opium poppy growing region.

Category: Taliban/ISIS/Terrorism, US-NATO - Views: 20313

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