ISAF says 5 suspects detained in Khogyani

JALALABAD (PAN-led troops said on Friday they had arrested five suspected militants during an operation in the Khogyani district of eastern Nangarhar province, but locals put the number of detainees at 10.

The arrests during a raid in the Hakimabad village on Thursday night, district chief, Haji Muhamamd Hassan, told Pajhwok Afghan News. However, he did not say who the detainees were.

Their village was ringed by International Security Assistance Force soldiers from 11pm to 5am, tribal elder Najibullah said. He blamed the foreign forces for searching homes, blowing out doors and stealing cash.

Najib said they came to know later on that the ISAF troops had detained 10 people and seized three Kalashnikovs.  The detainees included Sherzad, Qari Nasim, Zabit and their guests. They were innocent people with no links to insurgents, he insisted.

In a statement, the ISAF media office in the eastern zone confirmed the arrest of only five people in the district. However, the force rejected the claim regarding the stealing of cash.

mas/mud