Afghanistan: President Claims Islamic Militants Using Helicopters to Move into Northern Areas

Islamic militants operating in northern Afghanistan are being dropped in by helicopter, Afghan President Hamid Karzai says.

The provincial governor of Kunduz added separately the fighters are members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. According to Karzai, militants used unidentified helicopters to move fighters into position along the border with Tajikistan over the past five months. The same technique may be used to transport men to the north-western frontier with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, he added.

An investigation is underway to discover the origin and ownership of the helicopters. "I hope in the near future we will find out who these helicopters belong to," the news web site Afghanistan.ru quoted Karzai as saying on October 12.

On October 11, US Special Forces detained 15 militants in Ali Abad district, south of Kunduz city, and recovered more than 50 assault rifles, local governor Mohammad Omar said on October 12. He identified the captured militants as supporters loyal to Tahir Yuldashev, the IMU leader who was reportedly killed in a drone attack in Pakistan in August.

Separately, Afghan Defense Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak, told parliament the Taliban in Afghanistan are supported by about 4,000 "foreign mercenaries."