Troops capture senior Taliban figure


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KABUL, AFGHANISTAN // Nato and Afghan forces captured a senior Taliban figure in an overnight raid, the international force said in a statement today. The man had recently been appointed the Taliban's finance chief in northern Baghlan province, Nato said. He was captured in southern Helmand province along with two other suspected insurgents after a tip-off that he was staying in a compound in Nah-e Saraj district.

Meanwhile, Nato said one of its service members died on Monday following an insurgent attack in the south. The international military coalition did not provide the nationality of the deceased or any other details. However, a US military spokesman said it was not an American service member. The death brings to at least 65 the number of foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan this month. Ten of them died on Monday, including three Australians and an American killed in a helicopter crash in Kandahar province.

* AP

THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)

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