US-Afghan raid frees more than 40 from Taliban prison

KABUL: A US-Afghan military operation backed by helicopter gunships freed more than 40 soldiers and police held captive in a Taliban prison in southern Afghanistan, officials said on Friday.
The operation conducted on Thursday in Nawzad district in the southern opium-rich province of Helmand comes as speculation swirls over whether Taliban supremo Mulla Akhtar Mansoor was killed in a firefight which broke out between insurgent commanders in Pakistan. “Afghan special security forces conducted a helicopter assault mission in Nawzad,” the US military said in a statement.
“After securing the prison, Afghan forces freed more than 40 prisoners comprising Afghan Police, Afghan National Army and Afghan Border Police members.”