KANDAHAR -- Afghan special operations troops have freed dozens of prisoners being held in a Taliban jail in southern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday (November 19).
Up to 30 civilians and police were rescued from the prison during the raid late Saturday (November 18) in Helmand Province, where the militants have a large presence.
Among those released were four teenagers, Helmand police spokesman Abdul Salam Afghan told AFP.
Maj. Gen. Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai, commander of the Afghan National Army's 215th Corps, said 20 civilians who had been chained up and "a number of police" were freed from the jail in Nawzad district.
The inmates had been accused by the Taliban of "committing various crimes", Ahmadzai added.
All the prisoners were criminals, said the Taliban.
