Afghan and the NATO-led forces, during a joint operation in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, arrested a Taliban commander, said a statement of the NATO-led forces released here on Sunday, Xinhua reported.

"An Afghan-international security force captured a militant while pursuing a Taliban IED (Improvised Explosive Device) commander in Kandahar province yesterday," the statement said.

However, it did not mention the name of the commander, but said that during the operation in Shah Wali Kot district, the joint force came under small arms fire and the forces returned fire, suppressing the threat.

Kandahar, a former stronghold of Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan, has been the scene of increasing insurgency over the past couple of months.