Afghan officials say the Taliban ambushed the convoy of First Vice President Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum but that he escaped the attack unharmed. “Sultan Faizy, His Media Advisor, said in Kabul that Dostum was returning to his base after observing a check post in Qaisar District, when the Taliban ambushed his convoy, which followed a gun battle”.
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An aide told RFE/RL that Dostum’s men fought back, killing four militants and capturing seven more. Another 13 were arrested.
Provincial police chief Massoud Yaqubi says that one of the killed insurgents was of Uzbek nationality.
Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek who led a personal army fighting the Taliban regime before the 2001 US military intervention and who is accused by rights groups of involvement in war crimes, joined the political mainstream past year as President Ashraf Ghani’s running mate.
Afghan security forces have stepped up attacks against Taliban hideouts across the war-ravaged country in recent months.
Going to the frontline along with the Afghan security forces was part of Gen. Dostum’s promises to clear northern parts of the country from the Taliban militants and foreign insurgents.
He was attempting to help win the support of Pashtun residents in volatile Ghormach district after having traveled through areas that had been major Taliban sanctuaries until Thursday, the TV reported.
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He survived the attack unhurt but his tank received numerous bullet shots by the Taliban militants.
