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600 foreign fighters surrender in Kunduz
Six hundred foreign fighters from the besieged city of Kunduz have surrendered, a Northern Alliance commander said Saturday.
Six hundred foreign fighters from the besieged city of Kunduz have surrendered, a Northern Alliance commander said Saturday.
The commander, Amanullah Khan, said in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif that the fighters - Chechens, Arabs, and some Pakistanis - surrendered with their weapons.
They were brought to Mazar-I-Sharif by forces of the three main commanders in northern Afghanistan, Rashid Dostum, Atta Mohammed and Mohammed Mohaqik. The men were from a group of fighters who had apparently broken out of the besieged city overnight and fled toward Mazar-i-Sharif. They were handed over by a Taliban delegation.
Many of the foreign fighters are loyal to Osama Bin Laden, and it has been feared that those inside Kunduz would choose to fight to the death. The commander characterized it as the start of a wholesale surrender by the defenders of Kunduz, not merely the handover of an isolated band of fighters.
"This process of surrendering has started. This is the first group. This will be continuing," said Khan.
He did not say how many fighters remained to be handed over, and when that would take place. There had been estimates that about 1,000 foreign fighters were among the defenders of Kunduz.
The commander, Amanullah Khan, said in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif that the fighters - Chechens, Arabs, and some Pakistanis - surrendered with their weapons.
They were brought to Mazar-I-Sharif by forces of the three main commanders in northern Afghanistan, Rashid Dostum, Atta Mohammed and Mohammed Mohaqik. The men were from a group of fighters who had apparently broken out of the besieged city overnight and fled toward Mazar-i-Sharif. They were handed over by a Taliban delegation.
Many of the foreign fighters are loyal to Osama Bin Laden, and it has been feared that those inside Kunduz would choose to fight to the death. The commander characterized it as the start of a wholesale surrender by the defenders of Kunduz, not merely the handover of an isolated band of fighters.
"This process of surrendering has started. This is the first group. This will be continuing," said Khan.
He did not say how many fighters remained to be handed over, and when that would take place. There had been estimates that about 1,000 foreign fighters were among the defenders of Kunduz.
Bureau Report