KABUL, Aug. 1 -- A senior Taliban leader was
captured by a joint Afghan and NATO-led International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) security force in southern Zabul province
Tuesday, the ISAF forces said Wednesday.
"An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a senior Taliban
leader in Tarnak wa Jaldak district, Zabul province, during an operation
yesterday," the ISAF said in a press release providing daily
operational updates to the media.
The senior Taliban leader organized a complex Improvised Explosive
Device (IED) network responsible for multiple IED attacks in the region,
the release said without disclosing the name of the leader.
"He was also responsible for directing suicide bombings and for
planning and executing multiple attacks against Afghan security forces
and civilians throughout the district." it said.
Earlier Wednesday, another joint security force conducted an
operation to arrest a Taliban leader in Zharay district in southern
Kandahar province, the release added.
"During the operation, a group of armed insurgents attacked the
Afghan and coalition troops. The security force engaged the insurgents
and killing several of them. After the engagement, the security force
detained multiple suspected insurgents."
The Afghan and ISAF forces also conducted a counter-narcotics
operation in the Shorabak district of Kandahar province Tuesday,
according to the press release. "As a result of the operation, the
combined force seized 1080 kilograms (2381 pounds) of hashish and
detained two suspected narcotics traffickers. The drugs were destroyed
on site, "it said
Separately, two suspected Taliban insurgents were detained by the
joint forces in Pul-e Khurmi district of the northern Baghlan province
Wednesday morning.
"The Afghan and coalition troops discovered a cache of improvised
explosive device components and ammunition while searching the compound
of a suspected Taliban leader," in the above operation, the ISAF release
said.
Violence has been on the rise since Taliban launched an annual spring offensive on May 3.



A total of 50 countries are contributing 130,000-strong forces in
Afghanistan with over 90,000 of them American mainly stationed in the
east and south, followed by 9,500 from UK mainly based in southern
Afghanistan.
The Taliban insurgents, who have been waging an insurgency of more than one decade, have yet to make comments.