Taliban Commander Arrested In Afghanistan

9 May 2004 - A senior Taliban commander has reportedly been arrested in a joint raid by U.S. and Afghan forces in southern Afghanistan.
Reuters news agency reported today that Mullah Ruzi Khan, a high-ranking Taliban commander for Zabul Province, was arrested in a military operation that involved several hundred U.S. and Afghan troops backed by U.S. helicopter gunships.

Word of the arrest came from Zabul Governor Kheyal Mohammad Husseini. He said more than 30 armed Taliban were also arrested in the operation that started on 7 May in several districts of the province near the border with Pakistan.

Husseini said Ruzi Khan is now in the custody of U.S. forces. The U.S. military was not immediately available for comment.

(Reuters)