Takhar Province of Afghanistan

Takhar is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It was established in 1964 when Qataghan Province was divided into three provinces: Baghlan, Kunduz and Takhar. It is in the north-east of the country. Its capital is Taloqan. Its salt mines are one of Afghanistan's major mineral resources. General Daud,the current Deputy Minister of the Interior for Counter Narcotics in Afghanistan, is the former governor of the Takhar province in Afghanistan.

Takhar also holds notoriety as the location where Afghan mujahideen leader Ahmad Shah Massoud was assassinated on September 9, 2001 by suspected al-Qaeda agents.

The major ethnic groups in the province are Uzbeks, Tajiks, Pashtuns and Hazaras.

Taliban insurgency;

In May 2009, Taliban insurgents fighting Afghan government attacked the Baharak district in Takhar province.

In a smaller incident in July 2008, the Afghans police killed Taliban militia commander Mullah Usman when several armed militants under his command raided a police checkpoint in the Kalafgan district. This was the first time since the fall of Taliban regime in 2001 that the Taliban engaged police in this thusfar relatively peaceful province. Mullah Usman was the most senior Taliban commander in the northeast region of Afghanistan, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry.

District

Baharak

Bangi

Chah Ab

Chal

Darqad

Dashti Qala

Farkhar

Hazar Sumuch

Ishkamish

Kalafgan

Khwaja Baha Wuddin

Khwaja Ghar

Namak Ab

Rustaq

Taluqan

Warsaj

Yangi Qala

Capital;

Taloqan

Area;

12,333 km² (4,762 sq mi)

Population;

886,400 (2009)

Main Languages;

Uzbak

Dari Persian

Pashto