The Taliban is systematically hunting down Afghan military pilots to cripple the government’s security forces as American troops withdraw from the country, according to a Reuters …
The Taliban is systematically hunting down Afghan military pilots to cripple the government’s security forces as American troops withdraw from the country, according to a Reuters report. At least seven Afghan pilots have been assassinated while off base in recent months, according to the report from Reuters. Officials believe the Taliban is deliberately targeting the pilots in order to cut the Afghan Air Force off at the knees and level the battlefield, as the militant group has no air power of its own. Reuters was reportedly able to confirm the identities of two of the slain pilots. 41-year-old Dastagir Zamaray was shot dead by a gunman, who also killed his realtor, as he was searching for a new home in a safer part of Kabul to avoid Taliban attacks. Black Hawk helicopter pilot Masood Atal was killed when two motorcycles pulled up beside his Toyota Corolla in Kandahar in December. The two assailants shot him 11 times. Two days prior to the assassination, he received a death threat over the phone from the Taliban, his brother told Reuters.
