Topic: NATO Warns Taliban Militants To Leave Afghan Town

Los Angeles Times
February 6, 2007
By Associated Press
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — NATO-led troops dropped leaflets on a southern Afghan town overrun by Taliban militants, warning them to leave a day after their leader was killed in an airstrike, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said.
An estimated 200 fighters descended on Musa Qala last week, destroying the government compound and temporarily taking local elders hostage.
An October peace deal between village elders and the Helmand provincial government said North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Afghan and Taliban fighters could not come within three miles of the town center.
Capt. Andre Salloum, a spokesman for the NATO-led force in southern Afghanistan, said two different messages from Helmand's governor were dropped — one addressed to the people of Musa Qala and the other to Taliban militants.
A NATO airstrike near Musa Qala on Sunday killed a Taliban leader identified by residents and NATO as Mullah Ghafour, who allegedly led the town's takeover after an alliance strike killed his brother last month.
"By removing him, we have disrupted their command and control and made it more difficult for the insurgency to plan their next move," said Col. Tom Collins, a NATO spokesman.
Fighting between Taliban fighters and British troops last summer and fall caused widespread damage to the town. British forces withdrew after the truce, which turned over security to local leaders.