WAR: Former Gitmo Inmate Killed in Afghanistan, page 1

Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar, a top Taliban commander has been reported killed in a gunfight in Afghanistan. The fight took place in Uruzgan, in the southern part of the country between Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar and government security forces. It is believed that Ghaffar was a former inmate of the Guantanamo Bay prison that the US built to house enemy combatants. He had been held for about 8 months there before being released. He was believed to be the leader of the Taliban fighters located in the Uruzgan region.

www.foxnews.com
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan � A former inmate at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who returned to Afghanistan to rejoin the Taliban as a key commander, was killed along with two fellow fighters in a raid by Afghan security forces, two senior officials said Sunday.
Interim President Hamid Karzai, meanwhile, made a visit � under heavy security � to a northern warlord whose influence could swing the Oct. 9 presidential election, which the Taliban and their anti-government allies threaten to disrupt.

The Taliban commander, Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar, died along with two comrades in a gunbattle Saturday night in Uruzgan, a southern province, said Gov. Jan Mohammed Khan.

He said authorities had received intelligence that Ghaffar was hiding in a village called Pishi and was planning an attack against the government. Security forces launched the raid after surrounding the house where the militants were hiding. No Afghan forces were reported hurt.

The governor said Ghaffar had been a senior Taliban commander in northern Afghanistan and was arrested about two months after a U.S.-led coalition drove the militia from power in late 2001. He was held for eight months at Guantanamo Bay before his release and return to Afghanistan.

Khan and Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali Khan said Ghaffar was then appointed leader of Taliban fighters in Uruzgan, a rugged region believed to be a stronghold of the hardline Islamic militia.

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U.S. officials hove not been able to confirm that he was indeed a prisoner at this time. Taliban fighters continue to be active in this region despite a large number of US troops that are tasked to hunt them down. The raid that killed Ghaffar, comes on the heels of recent attacks by the Taliban that have targeted not only US forces, but the interim Prime Minister, Hamid Karzi. Karzi, recently escaped a rocket attack on the U.S. military helicopter he was flying in. The attacks seem to be increasing in tempo as Afghanistan nears its election. Karzi is the favorite, but may not be able to secure a majority needed to avoid a runoff election. He has been travailing the country as of late trying to secure support and convince candidates to drop out to increase his vote count.