Shadowy Unit Seeks to Exploit Afghan Taliban Divisions in South - Reuters
A shadowy new unit run by Afghanistan's main intelligence agency has begun operations in southern Helmand province with a mission to exploit divisions within the Taliban insurgency, government officials and a militant spokesman said.
The aim is to weaken an increasingly dangerous enemy by turning the tables on the Taliban, who boast of placing agents among government security forces to carry out "insider attacks".
The initiative comes as fledgling Afghan forces are struggling to prevent the Taliban overrunning large parts of Helmand and other parts of the country.
Abdul Jabbar Qahraman, President Ashraf Ghani's special envoy for security affairs in the southern province, confirmed the existence of the unit, whose members do not wear uniform, but declined to provide further details.
"The idea for the creation of the new contingent, which dresses like local Helmandis, was mine," said the official, who was a commander fighting for the Soviet-backed government in southern Afghanistan in the 1980s…