Taliban leader killed in Kunduz airstrike

KABUL leader named Hamid Gul was killed during a joint Afghan-coalition security operation in the Chahar Darah district of northern Kunduz province on Thursday, the alliance said on Friday.

Gul, who oversaw 25 insurgent fighters, conducted attacks against Afghan officials and Afghan and coalition forces in the district, an ISAF statement said.

His group was responsible for the acquisition of improvised explosive device-making materials, IED construction and emplacement in the district. He was killed in a precision strike.

Kunduz police spokesman Syed Sarwar Hussaini said a man had been killed in a NATO airstrike in the Nawabad area of Chardara, but it remained unclear if the slain person had links with the militants.

The ISAF statement further said an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) leader was arrested in Yangi Qal‘ah district of northern Takhar province. The detainee, an explosives expert, assisted planning an impending high profile attack, the alliance claimed.

Three insurgents were detained in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province and another five in the Baraki Barak district of central Logar, the statement said.

pr/ma

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