26 Officers Held for Possible Taliban Ties

U.S. and Afghan troops arrested 26 Afghan security officers manning a highway checkpoint who were suspected of having links to the Taliban militia, an Afghan official said.

The arrests were made in the Shahjoy district of the southern province of Zabol, Police Chief Thor Jan said.

Thousands of international troops keep the peace in Kabul, the capital, but security in outlying regions remains precarious and is left largely to militia forces, who generally cooperate with the central government but are usually loyal to local commanders.