The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan said on Wednesday that a joint operation involving its troops and Afghan security forces had resulted in the capture of a Taliban leader.
The ISAF said in a statement posted on its website that the Taliban leader was captured in the Nad 'Ali district of Helmand province. Without identifying the detainee by name, the statement said he was suspected of planning and directing roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in central Helmand.
The ISAF also accused the captured Taliban militant of being responsible for an attack on an Afghan Army checkpoint in Marjeh that killed several Afghan soldiers earlier this month. It added that several other insurgents were also detained in the operation.
Separately, another senior Taliban leader was detained in the Khanabad district of Kunduz province in an operation involving ISAF personnel as well as Afghan troops. The international coalition said the detained insurgent had planned and organized roadside bombings, suicide attacks and other operations against Afghan and coalition troops throughout the district.
The ISAF said the Taliban leader captured in Khanabad, who was also not identified by name, often intimidated civilians who support the Afghan government and recently attempted to halt the construction of a bridge in the district by threatening workers. Multiple suspected insurgents were detained during the operation.
The ISAF said an anti-drug operation carried out by a coalition of its forces and Afghan troops in the Baghran district of Helmand province on Monday led to the recovery of improvised explosive device components, weapons as well as narcotics production equipment and chemicals.
It said troops involved in the operation came under insurgent fire, but the attackers were killed in the retaliatory fire. It said items recovered in the operation were destroyed.
At present, there are over 130,000 foreign troops from more than 42 countries under the joint command of the NATO and the United States in Afghanistan to contain a resurgent Taliban in the war-torn South Asian country.
The U.S. and other allied nations involved in the Afghan mission are currently making serious efforts to get the Afghan security forces equipped to handle the country's security before the international coalition troops pull out by the end of 2014.
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