‘British Taliban’ arrested in Afghanistan

British armed forces arrest two Britons in western Afghan city of Herat suspected of fighting for the Taliban British special forces have captured two Britons in Afghanistan believed to have been planning an attack on UK soldiers. Though there have been unconfirmed reports in the past about British-born individuals joining the Taliban-led insurgency in the country, this is the first time any such suspects have been captured. The two men were seized at a hotel in the western city of Herat in a joint operation with Afghan intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), according to defence officials. They are British passport holders with dual nationality and have been taken to a British base in Helmand province. The Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office confirmed the arrests but would not immediately give any further details about the operation. An MoD spokesman said: “We can confirm that British forces have detained two individuals in Afghanistan who claim to be British nationals. We are not prepared to comment further at this stage.” A Foreign Office spokeswoman added: “We can confirm that two British nationals have been detained in Afghanistan. Embassy staff are providing assistance.” Nato forces in Afghanistan can hold suspects for a maximum of four days before releasing them or handing them over to the Afghan authorities. However, the period can be extended. The Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “The UK has a national policy of detaining beyond 96 hours in exceptional circumstances, in particular where it could provide information that could help protect our forces or the local population.” News of the arrests came as the UK handed responsibility for security in Helmand’s capital, Lashkar Gah, to Afghan forces on Wednesday in a step towards the planned pullout of British combat troops by the end of 2014. Afghanistan Taliban Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 21, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.