Afghans arrest Taliban commander, UK troops arrive - Yahoo! News

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan security forces arrested a Taliban district commander in the east of the country along with two of his men suspected of burning down a school, police said on Wednesday. [snip]

The Taliban commander, Mullah Nazer Shah, had been a district official during the Islamist group's rule. He was detained during a search by security forces in Ghazni province late on Tuesday.

"He had been working as a Taliban commander in Gailan district for three years. Security forces had been hunting for him," said provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Sarjang.[snip]

Also on Wednesday, the first 150 British combat troops of a deployment of about 3,300 British troops to the Afghan south arrived in the country.[snip]

British forces are playing a leading role in the expansion of a NATO peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan this year. The force will expand to about 16,000 troops from 9,000.[snip]

The new deployment of 3,300 will be based in Helmand province in the south where Taliban insurgents and drug gangs are a major problem.

Arriving in Afghanistan on Wednesday were 150 Royal Marines commandos, part of an advance party of 850 British troops deploying to Helmand this month to help prepare for the arrival of the full contingent over subsequent weeks.






Afghans arrest Taliban commander, UK troops arrive - Yahoo! News