Seesaw Conflict With Taliban Takes Toll in Fallen Afghan District<br />Mr. Abdullah, the chief executive, asked provincial officials to submit a proposal requesting additional Afghan<br />local police, essentially militia fighters with varying degrees of vetting who are paid by the government.<br />In response to criticism that military support was not sent in time, Abdullah Abdullah, the chief executive of the Afghan government,<br />who visited Taiwara recently after its recapture, said several provinces had come under attack around the same time.<br />Gen. Mohammad Nasir Hedayat, the commander of the Afghan Army corps in the west, said his men were certain<br />that Mullah Mustafa had aided the Taliban attack on Taiwara by hosting hundreds of their fighters from neighboring provinces "as guests" before the assault.<br />Security officials in Ghor say about 700 heavily armed fighters from neighboring provinces made a run for the district in Humvees<br />and trucks stolen from Afghan forces in Helmand Province.<br />TAIWARA, Afghanistan — Before the Taliban briefly overran the Taiwara District in late July, the last semblance of resistance came not from the government,<br />but rather from local residents who rallied around their representative in Parliament in what turned out to be a fatal effort for many.<br />There is only one problem: Ghor’s provincial security chief and Mr. Malikzada disagree over how to register his men formally with the government.<br />It is obvious that the commandos cannot stay in Taiwara for long, and officials openly admit<br />that what remains of Mr. Malikzada’s informal militia, more than 100 men, is their best hope of holding the district.
