18 militants killed, 31 detained

KABUL): Eighteen insurgents have been killed and another 31 detained in different provinces over the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Interior said on Saturday. Weapons and ammunitions were also seized.

Thirteen militants were killed and eight others detained during separate operations by Afghan and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops in Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Ghazni and Farah provinces, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

A dozen of bombs, 13 Kalashnikovs, three machineguns, a rocket launcher, five pistols, five different types of ammunitions, a walkie-talkie, five artillery shells, three boxes of bullets, two kilograms of explosives, 467 kg of opium and five motorcycles were seized during the period.

A fighter was shot dead by police while planting a roadside bomb in the Panjwai district of Kandahar. Five anti-personnel bombs and a walkie-talkie were recovered from him.

Meanwhile, four guerrillas were killed and 11 others detained during operations in Sar-i-Pul, Farah, Paktika and Kandahar provinces, the ministry said.

Nine Kalashnikovs, two hand grenades, three rocket launchers, two pistols, and 50 kg of hashish were also seized and 33 other bombs were defused, it added.

Separately, one Talib was killed and three others, including two commanders, were detained during an operation by Afghan and ISAF troops in the Syedabad area on the outskirts of Sar-i-Pul in northern Sar-i-Pul province, Governor Syed Anwar Rahmati said.

Qari Mohibullah and Qari Azizullah were among the three rebels detained from a house, while a fourth was killed during the offensive, he said. Two pistols, two rifles, five explosive capsules, two hand grenades, a rocket launcher and two motorcycles were recovered from the house.

The operation was conducted at around 12am, a tribal elder in the area, Tehsildar Shamsi said.

According to an ISAF statement, its troops detained a Taliban commander, accused of roadside bomb attacks and other disruptive activities in Sari-i-Pul.

In southern Ghanzi province, a Taliban militray commission head was captured from a house during a joint operation by Afghan and foreign troops in the Bardagi village of Qara Bagh district, said the police cheif, Brig. Gen. Zarawar Zahid.

He identified the detainnee as Maulvi Wali Mohammad, who was  involved in organising roadside bombings and other attacks aganist Afghan and international troops.

Mohammad  was detained from the house of his brother on Friday night, when foreign troops landed from helicopters, a resident of the area, Abdul Hakim, said.

The detainee was an important Taliban commander, a district council member said on condition of anonymity. His elder brother had also been detained by international troops, but was released after a year in prison.

In southern Zabul province, eight fighters were detained during a joint operation by Afghan and international troops. The operation was conducted on Friday in the Shubar area of Shah Joy district.

The district head, Mohammad Siddique, said a rocket launcher, a machinegun, four Kalashnikovs, walki-talkies, some ammunitions and hashish were seized during the operation.

But Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, denied any of their fighters had been killed or detained in the district. He claimed the fighters attacked US troops in the Lodyan area, inflicting casualties on them.

Meanwhile, police seized 131 bags of ammonium nitrate on the Paktika-Kandahar highway. The governor’s office said two men were arrested in connection with the banned fertiliser. Each bag contained 50 kg of ammonium nitrate.

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