A senior Taliban commander finds himself in British hands today after a lightning raid on his home by SAS commandos. Without firing a shot or losing a man, the SAS plucked Mohammed Nabi from his fortified house:

A team of SAS soldiers captured a key Taliban commander yesterday in a lightning raid on a heavily-fortified compound in southern Afghanistan.

Without a shot being fired, the force of fewer than 30 elite soldiers, backed by Afghan troops, achieved "total surprise" and seized Mohammad Nabi in the early hours of the morning near Gereshk, in Helmand province.

Nabi is believed to be a key commander in the Taliban insurgency in the neighbouring province of Kandahar.

The compound, which had been under observation by Nato forces for around two weeks, was typical of the heavily-fortified homes favoured by the Pashtun tribes of southern Afghanistan, which often boast battlements and watch towers.

Initially, the British wanted to keep the story quiet, especially the identity of the target. They wanted to see how much information he would give before tipping off the second round of targets. The Telegraph describes this as a "secret war" in the region, mostly fought by commandos and intel agents, and any edge they could gain would pay dividends. The release to the Telegraph indicates that no further explotation can be made.

However, Nabi's capture shows that the British and other NATO forces appear to be getting better intel. The recent decimation of an infiltration colum and the Pakistani attack on al-Qaeda camps show an emerging pattern of success against Islamist terrorists in the region. If we could get Pakistan to work harder in Waziristan to keep terrorists from crossing over into Afghanistan, we could make real progress against Mullah Omar and his remnants.

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British Special Forces Capture Taliban Commander Ed Morrissey A senior Taliban commander finds himself in British hands today after a lightning raid on his home by SAS commandos. Without firing a shot or losing a man, the SAS plucked Mohammed [Read More]

Tracked on January 18, 2007 10:52 AM