Afghan official: Foreign fighter captured, says he is German

KABUL – An Afghan official says special forces have captured a foreign fighter claiming to be German during a raid on the Taliban in southern Helmand province.

The Defence Ministry’s spokesman, Dawlat Waziri, said on Thursday that the Afghan commandos captured the man, whose name was not released, along with two other Taliban fighters in a nighttime raid earlier this week in Helmand’s Gereshk district.

He says the special forces confiscated Kalashnikov automatic rifles and several grenades during the raid.

Helmand Governor Hayatullah Hayat says the suspected German had a long beard and wore a black turban. He couldn’t speak either Dari or Pashto, the two main languages in Afghanistan.

German authorities had no immediate comment. German fighters are known to have joined the Taliban and other militant groups in the past.