Officials Confirm Recent Taliban Death, Arrests

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 12, 2012 – Afghan and coalition security forces today confirmed the death or arrest in recent days of three key Taliban operatives.

Officials confirmed the death of Sherzad Khan, a Taliban attack leader, during an operation yesterday in the Khugyani district of Nangarhar province. He is believed to have conducted weapons and explosives training for Taliban insurgents. The security force also detained several suspected insurgents and destroyed a cache of assault rifles, grenades, explosives and illegal narcotics.

A senior Taliban facilitator was arrested yesterday along with another suspected insurgent in the Talah wa Barfak district of Afghanistan’s Baghlan province, officials confirmed. The facilitator is believed to be a major figure in the region’s improvised explosive device network, which had targeted Afghan and coalition security forces and Afghan civilians.

Officials also confirmed today the Sept. 9 arrest in the Waghaz district of Ghazni province of a Taliban leader believed to have coordinated the movement of foreign insurgents throughout eastern Ghazni while providing guidance and equipment for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also detained several other suspects.

In Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force in the Zharay district of Kandahar province arrested a Taliban IED cell leader suspected of being responsible for the emplacement of multiple roadside bombs in and around central Kandahar. He also is believed to have coordinated the movement of explosives throughout the district and planned to use drug money to purchase insurgent supplies and weapons. The combined force also detained two other suspects.

-- A combined force arrested a Taliban IED specialist, detained several suspected insurgents, and seized bomb components in Kandahar’s Kandahar district.

-- In the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province, a combined force detained two suspects during a search for a Taliban cell leader.

-- A combined force detained several suspects during a search in the Deh Yak district of Ghazni province for a Taliban leader believed to serve as the senior liaison among insurgent groups operating in central and eastern Afghanistan, including the Taliban and al-Qaida.

-- In the Terayzai district of Khost province, a combined force detained several suspects during a search for a Haqqani network leader suspected of providing insurgents with explosives and firearms to use in attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces.