Afghanistan: Illegal Mining, Weak Government Help Taliban Expand in Afghan North

Nov 6, 2016 | Jawad Kakar, Reuters
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Afghan Taliban militants have strengthened their grip on lucrative illegal mining operations in the north of the country, as security forces focus most of their efforts on battling the insurgency in the volatile south, officials said. Abuses by local commanders with private militias and beyond the purview of central government have also driven people into the hands of Islamist fighters, the officials added, making it easier for them to profit from small-scale mines in the region.