The United States military said on Saturday it had captured four suspected al-Qaeda operatives in a raid on their hideout in eastern Afghanistan.
There were no casualties on either side during the operation conducted early on Saturday in Sal Kalay village in Khost province near the Pakistan border, it said in a statement.
“The purpose of the operation was to capture al-Qaeda operatives who have been involved in the planning of attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan.”
“The mission was successful,” the statement said without giving details. It didn’t reveal the name and nationalities of the detained men.
Thousands of US-led troops are based in Afghanistan to hunt down Taliban and other Islamic militants.
The Taliban, which harboured Al-Qaeda — the network led by Osama bin Laden — was driven from power in Afghanistan in late 2001 in a US-led military offensive.
The Taliban have waged a bloody insurgency against the new Afghan government, mainly targeting the government and military coalition in southern and eastern Afghanistan. — AFP