10 Taliban insurgents killed in Afghanistan

At least ten Taliban insurgents were killed and 14 others captured in joint operations by coalition and local forces in different parts of Afghanistan, authorities said on Saturday.

Eight joint operations in northern, southern and eastern regions of the country resulted in the killing of "10 armed insurgents," Afghanistan's interior ministry said in a statement. One insurgent was also wounded and 14 others arrested, it said.

The joint operations were carried out in the troubled southern Kandahar and Helmand provinces, as also in northern Badakhshan area and eastern Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan. No Afghan or International Security Assistance Force casualties were reported in the joint operations.

The interior ministry statement came a day after a Taliban suicide bomber killed the head of Kunar's peace council, which was formed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to facilitate peace talks with the insurgents and opponents of the government.

The killing of Mowlawi Mohammad Hasem Munib is a major blow to Karzai's effort towards peace talks.

Taliban have stepped up operations against the Afghan government and coalition forces in recent weeks.

Four Afghan policemen were killed on Friday in three separate incidents in Kandahar. One of them was killed in an attack from Taliban, two others died when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb and the fourth one lost his life while trying to defuse a bomb.

Meanwhile, the ISAF said in a statement that Afghan and coalition forces captured "an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator during an operation," on Saturday in northern Faryab province.

"The facilitator provided funds for attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces throughout the province," it said.

The movement is based in northern provinces, mostly in Faryab province where ethnic Afghan-Uzbek live. It is also connected to the Al Qaeda.