NATO, Afghan forces capture senior Taliban figure; NATO service member killed in south

NATO, Afghan forces capture senior Taliban figure

KABUL, Afghanistan — The head of a provincial health department in northern Afghanistan was killed Tuesday by a bomb planted in his private clinic, while two NATO service members were killed in attacks, officials said.

Dr. Azizullah Safari was walking up to his second-floor clinic when a bomb exploded under the stairwell, said Muhbobullah Sayedi, a spokesman for the governor of Kunduz province.

Two NATO service members died from attacks in the south — one Tuesday and one late Monday night, NATO forces said in statements. The international military coalition did not provide the nationalities or any other details. However, a U.S. military spokesman said neither was American.

The death brings to at least 66 the number of foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan this month. Ten of them died Monday, including three Australians and an American killed in a helicopter crash in Kandahar province.

Meanwhile, NATO and Afghan forces captured a senior Taliban figure in an overnight raid, the international force said Tuesday in a statement.

The man had recently been appointed the Taliban’s finance chief in Baghlan, a northern province, NATO said. He was captured in Helmand province in the south along with two other suspected insurgents after a tip-off that he was staying in a compound in Nah-e Saraj district.