Taliban appoint hardline battlefield commanders to key Afghan posts


FILE PHOTO: A Taliban soldier walks on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 17, 2021. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

(Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers announced several senior appointments on Tuesday, naming two veteran battlefield commanders from the movement's southern heartlands as deputies in important ministries.

Main Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir will be deputy defence minister, while Sadr Ibrahim was named deputy minister for the interior. Both men had been expected to take major positions in the new government but neither was named in the main list of ministers announced this month.

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