Insurgent Leaders Captured In Afghanistan, NATO Says

NATO said Friday that it has detained two Afghan insurgent leaders in the eastern and southern Afghanistan where forces are combating insurgents, and over 430 suspected fighters have been arrested during the last month.

At least 15 insurgents were also killed by Afghan and NATO forces during a firefight in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar, as they were planning to launch an attack. NATO said that there were no reports of civilian casualties.  

According to NATO, Afghan and coalition forces apprehended a senior Taliban head from District Panjwal of the Kandahar province on Thursday.  Security forces are busy carrying out a military operation by the name of "Dragon Strike" in Kandahar, which the Taliban consider as their spiritual headquarters, to wipe out militants from the area.

Meanwhile, five NATO servicemen died on Thursday in the same area, where according to NATO hard fighting is expected. Three were killed by a homemade bomb, while two were killed in separate incidents- one in a blast and the other by a militant attack. With three months still to go, 2010 has already been the deadliest for the coalition in the nine-year Afghan War

NATO said in an announcement on Friday that the detained Taliban head assisted militants in obtaining weapons and preparing explosives, in addition to providing militant training. It also said that the security forces didn’t fire a single shot in taking him into custody.

A statement issued by NATO on Friday said that the man was arrested together with three of his companions. Security forces also recovered an automatic gun, a hand grenade and ammunition from the scene.