Taliban leader who downed US chopper held

A Taliban leader responsible for shooting down a US helicopter that killed two US servicemen in Afghanistan earlier this month has been arrested by the NATO-led coalition troops, a statement said Sunday.

A Taliban leader responsible for shooting down a US helicopter that killed two US servicemen in Afghanistan earlier this month has been arrested by the NATO-led coalition troops, a statement said Sunday.

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"An Afghan and coalition security force today (Sunday) arrested the Taliban leader responsible for the death of two American service members following a Sep 5 helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan," Xinhua quoted a NATO-led ISAF statement as saying.

No civilians were harmed during the operation, the statement said.

The Taliban leader - who was not named - and his insurgent cell coordinated the attack that downed an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter, killing both service members onboard, it said.

Up to 10 NATO and US helicopters have gone down this year, leaving around three dozen soldiers and eight Afghans dead.

The Taliban did not comment on the arrest of the leader.