Coalition Forces Capture Provincial Taliban Commander

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

May 26, 2010 - A combined Afghan-international security force captured a Taliban operations facilitator and other suspected militants in southeastern Afghanistan last night, military officials said.

The combined forces captured the facilitator and other militants in Zabul province's Qalat district, where he has ties to several insurgent networks and is known to fund the insurgency. When the security force confronted him, he immediately surrendered and identified himself as the wanted man. No shots were fired, and no one was harmed.

In other operations in Afghanistan:

-- A combined patrol found 50 detonators, a mortar round, a mortar fuse, detonation cord, ball bearings, pressure plates, a small bag of homemade explosives, and a trigger device, in Uruzgan province's Chorah district yesterday.

-- Afghan forces working with international partners in Helmand province killed several insurgents in a firefight in Shurakay yesterday. The team was approaching a compound where a Taliban commander was believed to be when they were attacked by insurgents with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

The combined forces surrounded the compound so Afghan special police could ensure residents could come out safely. Several occupants were detained, and several women and children were protected throughout the operation, officials said. No civilians were injured.