Burqa-clad Taliban leader caught as NATO attacks

Burqa-clad Taliban leader caught as NATO attacks
07 Mar 2007 10:08:46 GMT
Source: Reuters

Background
• Afghan turmoil


MORE >>
KABUL, March 7 (Reuters) - Afghan soldiers have captured a Taliban leader who tried to flee a security operation in the south dressed in a burqa, NATO said on Wednesday.

Tuesday's capture in Kandahar province came as NATO launched a major offensive in neighbouring Helmand to secure a key hydroelectric dam and combat the opium trade.

The man was named as Mullah Mahmood and described as an expert bomb-maker. U.S.-led coalition forces also detained five more suspected militants in eastern Khost this week.

~snip~

More than 4,000 people died in fighting last year, including about 1,000 civilians. Suicide bombings jumped to 139 from 21 as insurgents copy tactics from Iraq and shy away from pitched battles that saw them suffer heavy losses.

~snip~

Many Afghans are becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of development and failure to create jobs, complaining billions of dollars in aid money are being wasted or seeping out of the country through aid agencies and foreign contractors.

more:http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/index.htm?limit=10&start=10