[Quqnoos] Afghan forces have arrested four Taliban insurgents, including a Taliban spokesman, in western Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday. Bashir Qinaat, who was claiming responsibility for multiple insurgent attacks on behalf of the Taliban, was captured in a military operation in the Guzara district of the western Herat province. Mr Qinaat has been accused of having ties with the Al Qaeda network and other sources funding the insurgency in Afghanistan, said Gen Jalandar Shah Behnam, Commander of Afghan Army in western Afghanistan.
The detained Taliban media man has links with two other purported Taliban spokesmen in the restive southern Afghan region, Gen Behnam added.
The official further said that Qinaat was arrested just a day after the killing of a key militant commander, Ghulam Yahya Akbari, in the region.
The prominent militant leader, including 26 insurgents, was killed in a major overnight military offensive in the district of Guzara.
Afghan and NATO-led forces stormed a militant stronghold in the district on Thursday, killing scores of insurgents, including their leader, Akbari.
The death of Akbari is considered a major blow in the militant network in Herat.
Akbari's militant group has been known as 'Al Fath' and was apparently affiliated both to Taliban and Al Qaeda networks.