A senior Taliban leader has been arrested by the Afghan security forces in northern Samangan province of Afghanistan.

The Afghan Intelligence, National Directorate of Security (NDS), said the detained Taliban leader has been identified as Mullah Esmatullah who is also famous as Jalali.

According to a statement by NDS, Mullah Esmatullah was appointed as the shadow district chief of Hazrat Sultan district of Samangan.

The statement further added that Mullah Esmatullah was arrested following a gun battle with the Afghan intelligence operatives and after he suffered injuries.

The Afghan intelligence operatives also confiscated an Ak-47 assault rifle and motorcycle belonging to Mullah Esmatullah.

NDS said Mullah Esmatullah was deployed to Samangan to carry out a series of attacks during the new year.

Elaborating regarding the potential attacks of Mullah Esmatullah, NDS said the detained Taliban leader was looking to coordinated some suicide attacks, explosions, roadside bombings, and assassination of the prominent and famous government and local officials.

Samangan has been among the relatively calm provinces in northern Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime but the militants have increased their insurgency in some of its districts during the recent years as the insurgent groups are attempting to destabilize the northern provinces.

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/5956

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