Taliban Infiltrators Kill 16 Afghan Intelligence Operatives in Helmand

At least 16 members of an Afghan pro-government militia force were killed in southern province of Helmand when a Taliban infiltrator turned his gun on men who he had worked with for months.

Reuters news agency cited a security official as saying that, the Afghan security agency had set up the militia to infiltrate the Taliban.

A security official said the suspected gunman had worked with the militia for months and took arms and ammunition after killing the men, Reuters reported.

VOA, however, cited Afghan officials as saying that four infiltrators in a rare overnight “insider” attack killed their colleagues at a facility linked to the National Directorate of Security or NDS in the Gerishk district of Helmand province.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killings in the province’s Gereshk district on Saturday, saying two of its fighters were involved.

According to VOA, the slain Afghan personnel belonged to the “Songaryan” unit working for NDS in Helmand. The unit is named after a popular a Turkish television soap opera and has been playing a key role in gathering intelligence for NDS on the Taliban in volatile districts of Helmand.

Taliban sympathizers or infiltrators in Afghan army and police forces routinely carry out insider attacks, but such incidents are extremely rare at NDS-related installations in Afghanistan.

The insurgency-ridden Helmand is one of Afghanistan’s most violent provinces, and also a major source of opium, the narcotic used to make heroin.