5 rebels killed, 2 commanders detained

QALAT/KABUL said on Friday.

In Zabul, three Taliban militants were killed in a direct engagement with Afghan security forces in the Arghandad district late on Thursday night, police chief Brig. Gen. Fazl Ahmad Sherzad told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Three AK-47 assault rifles and some explosives were seized from the site of the clash that occurred in the Marghabi area, he said.

Another two rebels were killed during an operation by police in the Shahabuddin Qala area of Nowbahar district early on Friday morning, the police chief said. One motorcycle and one Kalashnikov belonging to the insurgents were confiscated by the police, he said.

A day earlier, he added, three militants were arrested by police during an operation in the Norak area on the outskirts of Qalat, the provincial capital. One Kalashnikov with several magazines, five walkie-talkies and some explosives were recovered from the detainees.

But a Taliban spokesman, Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, said that foreign troops had killed five civilians, including a prayer leader, during an operation in the Arghandab district last night.

Meanwhile, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) media office in Kabul said two rebel commanders were arrested during separate operations in southeastern Khost and southern Helmand provinces.

In a statement, the force said a Haqqani network leader was detained in the Nadar Shahkot district of Khost last night. It accused the detainee of directing attacks against foreign and local forces and planting roadside bombs in the area.

Several additional suspected militants were also detained and some weapons seized during the operation, the statement said.

In Helmand, a joint Afghan-international security force detained a Taliban commander in the Washir district on Thursday night. The ISAF statement said the detainee was involved in attacks and planting roadside bombs to target security forces.

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