Top Taliban leader arrested in Afghanistan's Kunduz

By Zabihullah Tamanna

KABUL

Afghan security forces have arrested a top Taliban military leader -- along with several other militants -- in the northern Kunduz province, a provincial police chief said Monday.

According to local officials, the group’s military head, Qari Salim, was arrested on Sunday night in an overnight raid conducted by Afghan Special Forces.

Brigadier-General Mohammad Qasim Jangal Bagh said Salim had played a key role in last year’s capture by the Taliban of Kunduz City, provincial capital of Kunduz province.

"Qari Salim was arrested along with six accomplices during an overnight operation in the Khanabad district," Jangal Bagh told Anadolu Agency.

Two other Taliban militants, the police chief added, were killed during the raid.

Jangal Bagh identified Salim as a "key Taliban member" who had directed insurgent activities in Khanabad and on the Kunduz-Khanabad highway and who had trained group members in suicide and roadside bombing techniques.

His arrest, the police chief asserted, would likely have a negative impact on the morale of the militant group.

According to Afghan Defense Ministry officials, Afghan security forces are currently battling Taliban insurgents in 11 of the country’s 34 provinces.