KABUL (Reuters) - A senior Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan surrendered to Pakistani authorities and British forces killed another leader, dealing a "shattering blow" to the militant group's leadership, the British army said on Tuesday.
Mullah Rahim, the top commander for southern Helmandprovince, gave himself up after British forces had killed twoother Taliban leaders in little over three weeks.
Hours after his surrender, another senior Talibancommander, Abdul Rasaq, also known as "Mullah Sheikh", waskilled in a British missile strike 15 km (9 miles) north of thetown of Musa Qala in Helmand on Monday morning, the Britisharmy said in a statement. Three other insurgents also died.
Rasaq headed Taliban actions around Musa Qala and wasactive in the insurgency for a number of years, it said.
"The Taliban's senior leadership structure has suffered ashattering blow," British army spokesman Lieutenant ColonelRobin Matthews said in the statement.
Musa Qala town holds a symbolic importance after Talibanfighters forced British troops out of the dusty opium-tradingcentre in late 2006. The Taliban then seized it in Februarylast year making it the only town of any size held by therebels.
Afghan, British and U.S. forces took back Musa Qala in anoffensive in December but Taliban insurgents are still activearound the town.
Elsewhere, U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces backed byairpower killed or wounded more than 30 Taliban insurgents infighting in the west of Afghanistan, a senior police officialsaid on Tuesday.
Fighting broke out in the Bala Boluk district of Farahprovince on Tuesday, regional police chief Ikramuddin Yawarsaid.
"The toll might be more than 30 because the operation isongoing," Yawar told Reuters.
SUICIDE ATTACK
A U.S.-led convoy was hit by small arms fire androcket-propelled grenades on Tuesday morning in Bala Boluk, aU.S. military spokesman said.
Air strikes were called in but no munitions were dropped.The U.S. military could not confirm if any Taliban were killeddead. International forces do not usually give casualty figuresfor insurgents.
In the capital, Kabul, a Taliban suicide bomber woundedfive civilians when he blew himself up as he was challenged bypolice on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said.
Taliban militants have launched some 100 suicide attacks sofar this year, mostly targeting Afghan and internationalsecurity forces but as many as 80 percent of their victims arecivilians, security experts say.
The bomber struck in the morning in the Gozargah area ofthe capital, next to the walls of the historic tomb of Babur,the 16th century founder of India's Mughal dynasty. Only a legof the bomber remained, lying on the ground, Reuters witnessessaid.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi, Yousuf Azimy andSharafuddin Sharafyar; Writing by Jon Hemming and JonathonBurch; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
