The Afghan military claimed to have captured a dangerous Taliban commander who orders suicide and roadside bomb attacks in the southwestern province of Nimroz.

Mullah Sher Malang was captured in a raid in the Khashrod district in Nimroz after a major clash with Taliban forces in the region. The initial clash took place after Taliban forces under the command of Mullah Ewaz ambushed an Afghan and Coalition convoy in the district.

Ewaz and an estimated 20 of his fighters were reported killed during the battle, which took place on Dec. 18, Nimroz's governor and police chief told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Afghan forces captured Malang during a follow-up raid that resulted in one Taliban fighter killed and five more wounded.

Malang is known to organize suicide attacks and roadside bombings in the region, and is a close ally to Mullah Abdullah Zakir, the Taliban's chief of military operations in southern Afghanistan.