Senior Taliban leader arrested in south Afghan operation

A senior Taliban leader was captured Saturday in an operation in Southern Afghan province of Helmand."An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a senior Taliban leader and detained two other insurgents during an operation in Nad Ali district, Helmand province, today," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a press release, Xinhua reported.The leader commands multiple cells of Taliban fighters, and with his subordinates, he is alleged to have participated in numerous complex attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the province 555 km South of Afghan capital Kabul, the release added without revealing the name of the man.On Friday morning, up to eight Taliban were killed and 11 wounded when they came in contact with the Afghan army and police in Helmand's Sangin district, the provincial governor spokesman Omar Zhwak said Saturday.An Afghan policeman was also killed and six army soldiers and four cops were wounded in the fight in Zard Rigi and Sadon areas of the district that lasted for hours, the spokesman said, adding, "The insurgents were intimidating locals before the arrival of the security forces in the area."The Taliban insurgent group, which has been waging an insurgency of more than one decade, has yet to make comments.