German citizen held with Taliban in Afghan: officials

Kandahar: A German national has been arrested with the Taliban in Afghanistan’s insurgency-racked Helmand province, officials have said, a rare example of a European among the insurgents.

“A man with a long beard, wearing a black turban who identified himself as a German citizen and speaks German, was taken along with three other suspected Taliban on Monday night in Gereshk district of Helmand province,” Omar Zwak, the provincial Governor’s spokesman, told AFP late last night.

A statement from the Afghan army corps in the province confirmed that the man had been detained with other suspects in a joint operation between Afghan Special Forces and the Afghan air force.

“The German national calls himself Abdul Wadood, and he was taken to Kandahar for further investigation,” the statement said.

Gereshk police chief Ismail Khplwak said the man was the “military adviser of Mullah Nasir”, commander of the Taliban’s elite “Red Unit” in Helmand.

If confirmed it would be one of the few incidents in which a European has been captured fighting among the insurgents.