Iranian guard soldier caught in Afghanistan: NATO

A man believed to be a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has been captured in southern Afghanistan and accused of smuggling weapons to the Taliban,  the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said on Friday.The man is suspected of belonging to the elite al-Quds force, which specialises in foreign operations for Iran.He was captured during a night raid on December 18 in the Zharay district of southern Kandahar province, the birthplace  of the Islamist Taliban, by Afghan and coalition forces, who  described him as "a key Taliban weapons facilitator"."The joint security team specifically targeted the individual for facilitating the movement of weapons between  Iran and Kandahar through Nimroz province," ISAF said in a statement."The now-detained man was considered a Kandahar-based  weapons facilitator with direct ties to other Taliban leaders  in the province," the coalition said.The United States and its NATO allies accuse Shi''ite Iran  of attempting to destabilise Afghanistan. Tehran denies  supporting militant groups in Afghanistan and blames the  instability on the presence of Western troops.Iran has wide and growing influence in Afghanistan,  especially in the west, where it has important economic ties.  A senior Iranian official said last month the country has  provided some $500 million in aid for its conflict-torn  neighbour.