KABUL, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Troops of the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) captured three anti-government militants including a local commander in the southern Zabul province on Sunday, a senior military official said Monday.

    "Our troops captured a Taliban commander, namely Juma Khan, andhis two armed comrades during a clean up operation in Shamanzai district," Commander of regional Corps General Rahmatullah Raufi told Xinhua.

    Zabul is the scene of increasing militancy in the southern region as personnel of the law enforcing agencies and Taliban operatives often attack each others.

    Taliban-linked insurgency has claimed the lives of some 700 people since the beginning of this year with half of them killed over the past three weeks mostly in the southern region, where militants emerged in 1994 and ousted from power by the U.S. military in late 2001. Enditem