Kabul: At least ten Taliban insurgents were
killed and 14 others captured in joint operations by coalition
and local forces in different parts of Afghanistan,
authorities said on Saturday.
Eight joint operations in northern, southern and eastern
regions of the country resulted in the killing of "10 armed
insurgents," Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said in a
statement.
One insurgent was also wounded and 14 others arrested, it
said.
The joint operations were carried out in the troubled
southern Kandahar and Helmand provinces, as also in northern
Badakhshan area and eastern Nangarhar province, which borders
Pakistan.
No Afghan or International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) casualties were reported in the joint operations.
The Interior Ministry statement came a day after a
Taliban suicide bomber killed the head of Kunar's peace
council, which was formed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to
facilitate peace talks with the insurgents and opponents of
the government.
The killing of Mowlawi Mohammad Hasem Munib is a major
blow to Karzai's effort towards peace talks.
Taliban have stepped up operations against the Afghan
government and coalition forces in recent weeks.
Four Afghan policemen were killed yesterday in three
separate incidents in Kandahar. One of them was killed in an
attack from Taliban, two others died when their vehicle hit a
roadside bomb and the fourth one lost his life while trying to
defuse a bomb.
Meanwhile, ISAF said in a statement that Afghan and
coalition forces captured "an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
facilitator during an operation," today in northern Faryab
province.
"The facilitator provided funds for attacks against
Afghan and coalition security forces throughout the province,"
it said.
The movement is based in northern provinces, mostly in
Faryab province where ethnic Afghan-Uzbek live. It is also
connected to al Qaeda.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, April 07, 2012, 15:59