Taliban flee Musa Qala

Telegraph:

Afghan and British forces occupy the centre of Musa Qala this afternoon, according to reports which indicate the Taliban have withdrawn from the town.

"Our forces are inside the town and the clean-up operation is ongoing," said General Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the Afghan Defence Ministry.

Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Taliban, confirmed the group's forces had left but added the decision to depart was made to protect civilians in the town after Nato bombing raids.

...

"We are using different tactics. It was the advice of our elders to save the civilians by withdrawing from the city. It doesn't mean we have left the district. We just left the town to avoid the civilian casualties."

The commander said he was speaking from near the town of Sangin to the south of Musa Qala.

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The Telegraph understands that special forces units from Britain and a number of other Nato nations, including the United States, were deployed ahead of the operation with the express intention of cutting off any Taliban attempt to stage a tactical withdrawal northwards.

To the north of Musa Qala lies Bagran district and the province of Uruzgan, mountainous areas which the Taliban have previously used as a safe haven.

The Taliban claimed they left to keep NATO from bombing civilians. This is likely a bogus claim The Taliban have been known to use human shields which has made them unpopular and that may be why they left along with the fact that they did not stand a chance against the large coalition force. They finally bowed to classic insurgency operations retreating in the face of superior force. The real key for Musa Qala remains whether there will be sufficient forces to keep the Taliban form coming back.

The Guardian reports that it is still unclear whether the cordon around the area has cut off the Taliban retreat.