Coalition Forces Arrest Three in Southeastern Afghanistan

According to the spokesman, a coalition of U.S. and Afghan forces are trying to “find, capture or kill” al-Qaida fighters in the southeastern part of the country. No further details were provided and the spokesman did not say as to how long the operation would last.

U.S. Col. Roger King told reporters at Bagram air base, the U.S. military headquarters in Afghanistan, that the operation centered on Zormat, an area in the Paktia province about 65 miles from the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said Thursday it had not succeeded in disarming two warring factions in a disputed town in northern Afghanistan.

Clashes between two rival factions have left at least eight dead in the town of Goosfandi in the Sari Pul province. The U.N. sent a team to the area in an attempt to broker a truce, but a U.N. spokesman said the situation was “much more complex” than expected.

“The parties are still working… to find a mutually agreeable solution,” the spokesman told a news briefing.

Western aid agencies have halted operations in the disputed region citing concerns over the fighting, and the U.N. has warned such disputes could lead to wider violence.