| The Afghan government and its NATO allies on Saturday prepared to reclaim a remote district centre recently reoccupied by a defiant Taliban who vowed to resist any intervention, as residents fled the area fearing military strikes. Militants had raised the Taliban movement’s white flag over government offices in the small southern town in Musa Qala district in Helmand province, which they stormed late on Thursday, a provincial tribal chief said citing locals. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman Col Thomas Collins said that while the situation remained unclear, “we have indications that Taliban are fortifying their positions in the district centre”. The British military deployed in Helmand under ISAF vacated the town, capital of Musa Qala district, about four months ago after a controversial deal with tribal elders who pledged to keep the Taliban out. Collins confirmed that a significant number of Taliban had attacked the town, overwhelming local police. Members of the town council were briefly detained, Afghan officials said. |