Eleven suspected Taliban rebels, including a local commander, died in two separate raids by US and Afghan troops ahead of Afghanistanâs key parliamentary elections, officials said on Wednesday. Five Taliban were killed and two were arrested early on Wednesday during an operation in Chora district of strife-torn Uruzgan province, which is in southern Afghanistan. âThe joint forces launched an operation in the area and after hours of fighting they killed the five Taliban, among them a famous Taliban commander called Mullah Painday Mohammed,â Uruzgan governor Jan Mohammed said. A large cache of weapons and explosives were also seized, he added. Six more Taliban were killed on Tuesday when joint forces surrounded a house in Sahak, a remote village in the restive southern province of Zabul, where the rebels were manufacturing remote-controlled roadside bombs, an official said. âAfter more than one hourâs exchange of fire, six Taliban were killed and lots of weapons, explosives and remote-control devices were seized,â said provincial spokesman Gulab Shah Ali Khail. There were no casualties amongst the Afghan or US-led troops, he said.