KABUL, March 2: Afghan security forces have arrested four ranking members of the Taliban in the country's south east, where remnants of the ousted regime continue to wage a violent revolt, officials said on Wednesday.

"The arrested men are well-known members of the Taliban," defence ministry spokesman Mohammed Zahir Azimi said. The men, identified as Mullah Nazir, Raqib Akhund, Ubidullah and Nader, were arrested in Charchino district of south-eastern Uruzgan province last week, he said.

Ubidullah was not the same Ubidullah who served as defence minister for the Taliban before they were toppled just over three years ago, Mr Azimi said. The rebels were captured by Afghanistan's US-sponsored national army during a clearance operation in Uruzgan. -AFP