Former Taliban spokesman captured in Afghanistan

Several Taliban figures, including a former spokesman for the insurgents, have been captured in raids by coalition and Afghan forces across the country, military and government officials said today.

Several Taliban figures, including a former spokesman for the insurgents, have been captured in raids by coalition and Afghan forces across the country, military and government officials said on Friday.

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Abdul Hay Motmaen, a spokesman for the Taliban when they ruled Afghanistan, was among those arrested in operations yesterday night in two villages in Andar district of the eastern province of Ghazni, district chief Shir Khan Yosoufzai said.

The international military force in Afghanistan says it has captured more than 100 senior Taliban figures since April in near-nightly raids targeting the top leaders. However, the successes have not managed to reduce insurgent attacks.

In Kandahar in the south, a joint Afghan and coalition force captured a senior Taliban commander who directed the movement of fighters and equipment through Nad Ali district in Helmand province, NATO said.

Yesterday night operation came a day after a joint force captured a Taliban logistics officer for Taliban networks operating in Kandahar city, the coalition said.

In the east, Afghan and coalition forces captured an insurgent suspected of making bombs Thursday night in Behsud district of Nangarhar province.

The security force targeted a compound outside the provincial capital Jalalabad in pursuit of the man, and Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to call for all occupants to peacefully leave the buildings.

After the occupants were interviewed, one of them led the security force to a different compound where the bomb-making suspect was apprehended.