Taliban commander killed, 22 rebels held in joint action

KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. and Afghan troops killed a Taliban commander and detained 22 suspected Taliban fighters during a major search operation after a gunbattle in a southern Afghan mountain range, officials said Saturday.

Also, a renegade warlord was taken into custody weeks after a clash with a powerful rival in the west of the country, as authorities struggle to improve security for October elections.

Mullah Rozi Khan, a Taliban commander in Zabul province, was killed after troops surrounded a group of rebels in Ghazoi village Friday evening, said Asadullah Khan, governor of neighboring Ghazni province.

“The soldiers demanded that they surrender, but instead they started shooting,” Khan told The Associated Press. “Mullah Rozi Khan and another Talib has been killed and several others arrested.”

Rozi Khan also was suspected of involvement in kidnappings and attacks on foreign construction workers rebuilding the main Kabul-Kandahar highway in Zabul.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Scott Nelson confirmed the operations in Zabul and neighboring Ghazni province, and said 22 Taliban suspects had been detained.

“We did have a major operation there,” he said.

It was unclear how many American and Afghan soldiers were taking part. None was reported injured.

Zabul has seen some of the bloodiest fighting between rebels and U.S.-led forces since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001.

Further east, suspected Taliban fired on a convoy of trucks bringing supplies to a U.S. military base in Khost province, killing a driver and injuring his assistant, said Nashin Uddin, an aide to the local Afghan National Army commander.

The attack occurred on Friday as the convoy made its way to Camp Salerno, a major U.S. base close to the Pakistani border.

Some 18,000 American-led troops are in Afghanistan to hunt down al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, and to help ensure security for landmark presidential elections scheduled for Oct. 9.

The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the elections, and have launched frequent attacks on coalition soldiers, election workers and Afghan voters.

The vote is also threatened by factional violence and the risk of intimidation by regional militia leaders.

The arrested warlord, Amanullah, a Pashtun who goes by one name, was brought to Kabul on Friday from the western province of Herat, said Jawed Ludin, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai. Ludin said Amanullah agreed to the transfer, but officials speaking on condition of anonymity said he had little choice and was essentially being kept under arrest.

“He does not have the freedom to go back. He is in custody,” said a senior Afghan official.

Dozens were killed in fighting that broke out earlier this month between Amanullah’s fighters and those of Herat Gov. Ismail Khan, an ethnic Tajik strongman whose autocratic rule has alienated minorities and even some of his own commanders.

Ludin would not comment on speculation that Khan might be removed from power, but he said the action against Amanullah was one in a series of steps unfolding during the coming days.