KABUL, July 20: Afghan forces captured a brother-in-law of Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar on Tuesday after a shootout in which one soldier was killed, officials said.
The man, Mullah Amanullah, was arrested during a pre-dawn raid in the central province of Uruzgan, Mullah Omar's home province, they said. "He is in our custody," said the chief of police in Uruzgan, referring to Amanullah.
Mullah Omar is among the militants most wanted by Afghan and US forces, and is believed to be actively involved in coordinating the resistance against foreign and local troops in Afghanistan.
Mullah Omar's whereabouts have been unknown since the Taliban's ouster in Nov 2001. "He can not hide himself forever. I am certain that this arrest is a step towards capturing him," said President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Jawed Ludin.
But the Uruzgan police chief was not so optimistic about capturing the Taliban leader. He suggested Mullah Omar was hiding out in Pakistan's tribal areas. "It is impossible to capture him here."
Mullah Amanullah was found with money that authorities believed he was planning to distribute to Taliban fighters, who have stepped attacks in the run-up to a presidential election on Oct 9. He also had a satellite telephone, a pistol and an automatic rifle.
This month security forces in southern Afghanistan arrested a man they described as Mullah Omar's former bodyguard. The man contacted Mullah Omar by telephone in the presence of security forces, who said it was the first indication in months that Omar was still alive.
When officials tried to call the telephone number again there was no reply. Mullah Omar was supreme leader of the Taliban when the movement allowed the Al Qaeda network to establish training camps in Afghanistan.
Omar refused to hand over Osama bin Laden after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. The reclusive Omar, who was born in 1959, lost an eye battling Soviet invaders in the 1980s.
About 500 government troops, backed by US-led forces, have launched an operation to root out Taliban fighters in Zabul province, to the southeast of Uruzgan. One suspected Taliban fighter was killed, three were wounded and five were captured in the latest clash, it said. -Reuters