ISAF: Senior Taliban leader captured in eastern Afghanistan

A senior Taliban leader was arrested on Sunday morning in eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, the coalition forces said. "Afghan and coalition forces arrested a senior Taliban leader and three other insurgents during an operation in Khugyani district, Nangarhar province, today," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a press release. The detained Taliban commander was believed responsible for coordinating and directing insurgent fighters in the province 120 km east of Afghan capital of Kabul, the release said without revealing the name of the captured man. "He is also suspected of having maintained direct operational control of a significant number of suicide bombers prepared to carry out attacks against Afghan and coalition forces," it noted. Earlier Sunday, the Afghan Interior Ministry in a statement said that the Afghan police supporting by army and coalition forces detained a total of 22 armed Taliban insurgents in different provinces within the last 24 hours. The Afghan security forces in partnership with the NATO-led coalition troops have intensified operations against Taliban and other militant groups recently. But the insurgent groups responded by armed attacks and bombings. Earlier Sunday, three Afghan security members were killed and four were wounded in two separate suicide car bombings in eastern Nangarhar and neighboring Loar province while the country's security forces killed two suicide bombers and defused their car bomb before targeting a security compound in Kabul.