Afghans urge US action on free-roaming Taliban

The government of a volatile southern Afghan province urged US forces yesterday to deal with resurgent Taliban guerillas and said hundreds of them were roaming around freely.

A Taliban official said its elusive leader Mullah Omar had approved a new deputy for the south on Saturday to assist a notorious commander suffering from wounds, and ordered him to intensify attacks on US and government forces.

In a further sign of stepped up Taliban activity, residents of a southern town close to the Pakistani border woke yesterday to posters threatening death to 25 "informers" accused of collaborating with US and Afghan government forces.

The deputy governor of Zabul province told Reuters Taliban officials, meeting in the Pakistani city of Quetta, had named Mullah Abdul Jabar as a rival governor for the province.

Mullah Mohammed Omar, a namesake of the Taliban leader, said hundreds of Taliban now roamed freely in several districts of Zabul and provincial forces were powerless to act as they had insufficient support from the US-backed central government.

"There are about 500 Taliban in Deh Chopan district," he said. "The district is under our control, but they are walking freely in the bazaar."

"If coalition forces do not launch a big operation here, it will be a big problem."

Zabul province was part of the heartland for the Taliban regime overthrown in 2001. It has seen repeated attacks on government soldiers, district officials and deminers this year.

Taliban intelligence officer Mullah Abdul Samad told Reuters a Taliban leadership council and tribal elders had named Mullah Sabir, alias Momin, as deputy to the military commander for the south, replacing Hafiz Abdur Rahim, who was suffering from wounds sustained three months ago.

Samad denied a report in Sunday's Pakistani newspaper The News that Rahim had been arrested in the central province of Uruzgan four days ago but freed two days later by government forces who failed to recognise him.