8 rebels detained; HABITAT worker kidnapped

KABUL during separate operations in Logar and Takhar provinces, officials said on Tuesday.

Five suspects were arrested in the Ali Khan area on the outskirts of Pul-i-Alam, the capital of central Logar province, by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers late on Monday night, police chief, Brig. Gen. Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Lewanai, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Elsewhere in the country, three people accused of cooperating with the Taliban were detained in the Yangi district of northern Takhar province during a nighttime raid by foreign troops, Col. Sana Khan, the district police chief, said.

The governor’s spokesman, Faiz Mohammad Tawhidi, confirmed the operation, saying the soldiers had held three seminary students. 

Meanwhile, the ISAF media office in Kabul confirmed both operations, saying five militants linked to the Haqqani network and two others loyal to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan were detained in Logar and Takhar.

Separately, the Taliban killed an abducted driver of a construction company in Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, late on Monday, said Maj. Ghulam Jilani, the deputy police chief.

The victim had been kidnapped three days ago in the Garm Aab area near Qalat by two motorcyclists, he said, adding the victim’s body was found last night. Police are investigating into the murder.

In northern Sar-i-Pul province, the insurgents kidnapped an employee of HABITAT along with his driver in the Khosh Tapa area, said Col. Jehangir Khan, the deputy police chief.

Security forces recovered the employee’s vehicle, he said, adding efforts were being made to set the abductees free. He said the Taliban had demanded $20,990 (1,000,000 afs) in ransom.

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