The Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Wednesday said that night raids by Afghan National Army (ANA) special forces units are of strategic importance in the fight against insurgency.
These operations help to eradicate terrorists from strategic locations quickly and effectively, defense ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said on Wednesday.
He said that night raids, special operations and night operations were now top priority for the security forces.
But security experts called on the MoD to carry out night raids on the back of credible information only so as to protect civilians.
“If the information is credible, then we can eliminate the enemies at night quickly; but night operations have some challenges as well and it disturbs (civilian) families,” said former military officer Atiqullah Amarkhail.
“Our special units, the commandos and our air force personnel are working hard these days and they have several plans on the table; the move is aimed to accomplish the job with few personnel and quickly,” said Waziri.
The statement comes hours after the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) carried out a night raid on Tuesday and eliminated a key Taliban commander, Mawlawi Lal, who had been the group’s shadow governor for northern Baghlan province.
The raid was carried out jointly by the ANSF and their foreign counterparts in Dand-e-Ghori area of Pul-e-Khumri city.
Meanwhile, a number of lawmakers in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) have said that the international community should step up its efforts to equip the Afghan air force with modern weapons, fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft.
“We need equipment for our air force personnel, they should also take a firm stand in the war against terrorism,” said MP Dawoud Kalakani.
“We cannot root out a tree by cutting one of its branches, we need to cut the roots of the tree,” said MP Ramazan Bashardost, referring to insurgents’ backers.
According to the MoD, over the past 24 hours, the Afghan security forces have carried out at least seven air raids.
The ANSF has also hit five Taliban prisons over the past five months – resulting in the release of more than 234 people from these jails. The raids also destroyed key Taliban facilities in Helmand, Baghlan, Kunduz and Nangarhar provinces.