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Arun Mohanty in Moscow
Uzbek General Abdul Rashid Dostum, whose forces control much of northern Afghanistan, has been killed in a Taleban air strike near his stronghold of Mazar-i-Sharif, a Russian television station reported on Wednesday.
There was no independent confirmation of the report.
A TV-6 correspondent reported two persons, one of whom had been identified as Dostum, had been killed in the air strike. The report did not provide any other details.
Dostum has been one of the most controversial figures in recent Afghan politics. He was the commander of the Juzjani Dostum Militia in late 1985 that was made up of 20,000 militiamen.
He joined Soviet-backed Afghan President Najibullah's government and fought against the mujahideen.
In 1992, he distanced himself from Najibullah and joined with the mujahideen during the transition of power in Kabul the same year. When the Taleban laid siege on Kabul in early 1996, Dostum moved his forces to Mazar-i-Sharif, where he consolidated his position in the north.
After Kabul fell on September 27 of that year, Dostum joined hands with Ahmed Shah Masood to form a new alliance called the Defence Council, which is now known as the Northern Alliance.
Masood was killed by suicide bombers posing as television journalists on September 9 this year, two days before the terror strikes in the US.
After capturing Kabul, the Taleban attempted to advance northward but their advance was halted at the mouth of Panjshir valley, Masood's stronghold.
Taleban militia also attempted to cross the Salang tunnel but were stopped by Dostum's forces.
Under military pressure, Taleban forces subsequently withdrew from the positions they had captured north of Kabul.
In May 1997, the Taleban temporarily took control of Mazar-i-Sharif and Dostum fled to Turkey for a few months. He returned in December the same year after the Taleban forces had been beaten back.
Dostum had maintained a low profile since then. He had once again become active as the Northern Alliance geared up for the US strikes against Afghanistan.
Indo-Asian News Service
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