WASHINGTON, Feb 9: The foreign minister during the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil, gave himself up on Friday.

Mutawakil was brought to a US military base at the Kandahar airport late into the night.

US officials hope that Mutawakil, one of the most-wanted members of the Taliban movement, can provide important information about the workings of both organizations and the whereabouts of remaining fugitives.

He was considered one of the closest associates of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and is the highest-ranking Taliban member captured so far in Afghanistan.

US officials started interrogating the former foreign minister at Kandahar base on Saturday.

The Iranian news network Khabar, monitored in Tehran, reported from Kabul that Mutawakil will be transferred to the US military base on Guantanamo Bay. Mutawakil was considered more moderate than the rest of the former Taliban officials. The New York Times said he led secret talks with Pakistan following the Sept 11 attacks over the extradition of Osama bin Laden.

When Mullah Omar refused to bow to US demands to hand over Osama he distanced himself from the Taliban.

American ABC television reported that a second Taliban leader - the former Northern intelligence chief - also turned himself in. His identity was not revealed, and military and intelligence sources say he is not on the US top 25 blacklist.

The only other major Taliban official in US custody is Abdul Salam Zaeef, the former ambassador to Pakistan. He was arrested by Pakistani authorities last month and turned over to US officials.

The kidnappers of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl have named Zaeef’s release as one of their demands.—dpa