Stopping short of confirming or rejecting the arrest of top Taliban military commander Mullah Dadullah, a senior provincial official said several Taliban had been arrested during the two days of clashes in Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province last week. Asadullah Khalid, Governor of the Kandahar province, where the 'senior commanders' and other Taliban fighters are believed to be arrested, said three senior commanders were among the militants captured in operation in the Panjwai district of the province.Speaking at an urgently-called news conference held after the news of Dadullah's arrest spread like jungle fire in Kabul, Khalid said three senior leaders were among the detainees. However, he said their names could not be disclosed for security reasons at the moment. The governor said besides the arrest, several local and foreign Taliban militants had been gunned down in the operations. The previous two days were the bloodiest since the ouster of Taliban in 2001.
Fierce battle was seen in Kandahar and Helmand provinces in which, according to official figures, 72 people, including 58 Taliban, 13 Afghan policemen and one Canadian soldier were killed. Separately, two suicide blasts were carried out in southern Ghazni and western Herat provinces, in which a US and an Afghan national was killed while another US soldier suffered minor injuries.
Afghanistan's southern provinces - Helmand, Kandahar, Ghazni - are in the grip of Taliban-related violence, including suicide attacks, roadside explosions, armed attacks on government and coalition forces and targeted killing of teachers, doctors, NGO officials and pro-government ulema (religious scholars). In the year 2006, more than 20 suicide attacks have so far been registered in the three southern provinces and the central capital Kabul. Security situation in the southern parts of Afghanistan has deteriorated ahead of the NATO expansion to those areas to replace the US forces. The United States had announced withdrawal of some 2,500 of its forces a few months back. The US forces, who were leading the anti-insurgency mission in south, had handed over command to Canadian forces in Kandahar, while British troops replaced them in the neighbouring Helmand province. According to the plan, Dutch forces are scheduled to take charge of security in Uruzgan province, abutting Helmand and Kandahar.