Senior Pakistan Taliban Commander Captured in Afghanistan

Photo Credit: APThe State Department has confirmed that U.S. troops have captured a senior Pakistani Taliban commander in Afghanistan.

Deputy spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters Friday that U.S. forces nabbed Taliban terrorist leader Latif Mehsud in a recent military operation. Harf said Mehsud served as a senior deputy and trusted confidant of Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud.

The Islamic extremist group claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing in New York’s Times Square in 2010 and has vowed to attack the U.S. again, according to Harf. She went on to say the group has also attacked U.S. diplomats and “countless” civilians in Pakistan.

The capture could be a significant blow to the Pakistani Taliban, which has waged a decade-long insurgency against Islamabad from sanctuaries along the Afghan border. They have also helped the Afghan Taliban in its war against U.S-led NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Latif Mehsud was arrested by American forces as he was driving along a main highway in eastern Logar province’s district of Mohammad Agha, said the Logar governor, Arsallah Jamal. The road links the province with the Afghan capital, Kabul.

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