Taliban lose capital town

ISLAMABAD, Oct 17 (DPA) — Opposition forces retook the important town of Taloqan in northern Afghanistan from the ruling Taliban militia late last night, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) agency reported today.

Supporters of Commander Ahmad Shah Masood took hundreds of Taliban prisoners in capturing the capital city of Takhar province, which was lost to the Islamic militia in August, the private agency quoted Opposition sources saying.

Three helicopters and 20 tanks also fell into the hands of the Masood forces, the sources said. Last week the Masood forces had recaptured the Khwajaghar Airport, north of Taloqan, close to the border with Tajikistan. Afghan analysts described the developments as a great setback to the Taliban.

Meanwhile, a high-level Taliban delegation headed by Islamic militia’s chief spokesman Wakil Ahma arrived here yesterday for talks with United Nations special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, an AFP report quoting the Afghan Islamic Press said.

The talks will be held here today, a Taliban official said, voicing the hope that the outcome would be "positive". Mr Brahimi last week held talks with the Taliban officials here and later visited the southern Afghan city of Kandahar where he met Mulla Mohammad Omar, supreme leader of the hardline Islamic militia.

The mission was aimed at easing tensions between the Taliban regime and the Iranian Government. Relations between the Taliban and the UN strained after the murder of an Italian officer, Carmine Calo, in Kabul in late August.

The UN withdrew its aid workers following the murder which took place amid protests over the August 20 US Cruise missile strikes against suspected terrorist camps in eastern Afghanistan allegedly run by Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.

The Taliban have agreed to allow a UN team to investigate the murder.

In wide-ranging talks on Wednesday, he discussed the activities of Bin Laden and the problems of drug trafficking and terrorism.