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Taliban using drones to target government forces: Afghanistan spy chief

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Nov 23, 2020, 06:10 PM IST
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An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier stands guard (representative image). Photograph:(AFP)

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Reportedly, the Taliban used a drone to blast the compound Kunduz province's governor.

Afghanistan's spy chief has said that the Taliban is using drones to carry out attacks on government forces in an address to parliament on Monday. 

"The drones they are using are sold in the market. They are basically camera drones," Ahmad Zia Shiraj, chief of National Directorate of Security (NDS) said, as quoted by news agency AFP.

He also said that NDS wants to stop the import of these drones that are used by these terror groups to implant explosives. 

Reportedly, the Taliban used a drone to blast the compound Kunduz province's governor.

The NDS chief did not confirm the attack but highlighted that drones were used in Kunduz and Paktia regions. 

Such devices have been used by Islamic State (IS) terrorists to carry out bombings in Iraq and Syria since 2016, but the technology is new for the Taliban. 

IS has a small but deadly presence in Afghanistan and was responsible for recent rocket attacks in Kabul that killed scores of people. 

Shiraj said that IS leadership has been "destroyed", but their "second layer are young are still active".

Meanwhile, Afghan and the Taliban are expected to soon start formal talks as several official sources from both the sides have suggested that many contentious issues have been resolved.