Militant from al-Qaida-linked group captured

Separately in the east, three employees of an Afghan construction company died Saturday when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb, police said.

Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces apprehended the unnamed militant with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan during a gun battle Friday in Almar district of Faryab province.

Faryab is a stronghold of the IMU, which is active in the north, but the province is otherwise relatively calm.

The construction company employees were traveling on a main highway between Khost and Paktia provinces when their four-wheel drive vehicle hit the bomb, said Youqib Khan, deputy police chief in Khost. He said a fourth employee of the company was injured in the blast in Dowamandia district.