The Taliban “shadow governor” of a northern Afghan province, an
important figure in the movement’s overall leadership, has been
captured in
The reported capture of Mullah Abdul Salam follows word of the recent arrest, also in
of the Taliban’s No. 2 leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, whose
influence was described as second only to the movement’s spiritual
leader and supreme commander, Mullah Mohammed Omar.
Salam, the shadow governor of Kunduz province in
“This is a big blow for the Taliban here,” Omar said.
It was not immediately known whether Salam’s arrest
was related to that of Baradar, but Taliban shadow governors, who are
usually senior commanders, are thought to travel regularly to
Omar said he was told that a deputy of Salam’s,
Mullah Mohammed, was arrested along with him. Some previous reports
have identified Mullah Mohammed as the shadow governor of neighboring
Baghlan province.
Taliban shadow governments sprang up across
after the movement was driven from power in 2001 by a U.S.-led
invasion. By late last year, according to a Western intelligence
official, there were shadow governments in all but two of
Although shadow governors usually function as
military commanders, directing insurgent attacks in the province where
they are based, they also oversee activities such as collecting taxes
and setting up Taliban courts. Their authority sometimes supplants that
of the “real” government.
Afghan and American troops in recent weeks have been
conducting a quiet but concerted campaign against Taliban shadow
governors. Last week, shortly before the start of a massive coalition
offensive in the southern Afghan town of Marjah, a senior shadow
official from Helmand province was captured in neighboring
In Kunduz, a once-quiet corner of Afghanistan, Salam
presided over a major buildup of Taliban forces over the last 18
months. The insurgents took over entire districts, repeatedly attacked
Afghan security posts, harried NATO troops in the province — who were
mainly Germans — and menaced a NATO supply line running through Kunduz.
One of the worst civilian-casualty episodes of the
war occurred in August after suspected Taliban fighters hijacked a fuel
truck. The Germans, fearing the vehicle would be used for an attack on
their main base in Kunduz, called in an airstrike that killed dozens of
insurgents — and also dozens of civilians.
Late last year, a series of raids, carried out
mainly by U.S. special forces, drove the insurgents underground in
Kunduz, but their presence remained a threat, Omar said.
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