Three al-Qaida arrested in Afghanistan

KHOST, Afghanistan, May 30 (UPI) -- Three suspected al-Qaida agents have been arrested in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan officials say.

The officials said the suspects were detained in Khost near the border with Pakistan as forces were hunting down an insurgent leader who was allegedly known to recruit foreign militants for attacks in the area, CNN reported Saturday.

"Afghan and coalition forces have had some very successful operations in the last several days -- specifically in the eastern provinces -- and we are not slowing down," Maj. Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said in a statement. "We will continue to partner with coalition forces and aggressively pursue extremists and the leaders who direct their actions."

Khost was the scene of a six-hour attack this month that killed nine people and wounded 25 others, while a suicide bomber followed it up with a blast that killed seven people at the entrance of the U.S. base Camp Salerno near the city, CNN reported.