Afghan troops kill Pakistani fighters, arrest foreign militants

Afghan commandos killed five suspected militants, including two Pakistani fighters, and arrested two foreigners in southern Afghanistan, the army said Tuesday.

The special forces eliminated "an important terrorist group" in Ghazi Klay village in Zabul province Monday night, the Defence Ministry said in a statement, DPA reported.

"In this operation, five people, including two Pakistani citizens, were killed and one Moroccan and one French national were arrested," the statement said. It did not provide further details about the detained men.

Ministry spokesman Daulat Waziri said the men had been identified from documents they were carrying.

Weapons and propaganda material were recovered and destroyed, the statement said.

Concerns have been increasing about the Taliban's ability to recruit in Western countries.

Last week, Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said a bomber who tried to kill him late last month had lived in London for six years.

The attacker, wearing an army uniform over a bomb vest, broke into the ministry's headquarters and shot dead three soldiers. He was shot and killed before he could detonate his explosives.