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Taliban fighters in Pakistan - Source: Reuters -
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The top military commander of the Taliban has been captured in
Pakistan in a secret raid, The New York Times said, but the Taliban
labelled the report rumour-mongering.
Citing US government officials, the Times said Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar, described as the most significant Taliban figure captured
since the start of the Afghanistan war, had been in Pakistani
custody for several days and was being interrogated by Pakistani
and US intelligence.
The White House and CIA declined comment on the report and the
Pentagon also had no immediate comment.
A Taliban spokesman said Ghani, known to many Taliban as Mullah
Baradar, was still in Afghanistan actively organising the group's
military and political activities.
"He has not been captured. They want to spread this rumour just to
divert the attention of people from their defeats in Marjah and
confuse the public," Zabihullah Mujahid said, referring to a US-led
NATO offensive in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
The Times cited officials as saying the operation to capture Mullah
Baradar was conducted by Pakistan's military spy agency, the
Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, which was
accompanied by CIA operatives.
The newspaper said US officials described Mullah Baradar as ranking
second in influence in the Taliban only to Mullah Muhammad Omar,
and that he was a close associate of al Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden before the September 11 attacks.
The newspaper said it was not clear if he was talking, but it
quoted the officials as saying his capture could lead to other
senior Taliban officials.
The officials voiced hope he would provide the location of
Mullah Omar.
US Marines are currently leading one of NATO's biggest offensives
against Taliban Islamic militants in Afghanistan.
The assault is the first test of US President Barack Obama's plan
to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, where the Taliban has
made a steady comeback since a US-led invasion ousted it in
2001.
The newspaper said it learned of the operation on Thursday, but
delayed reporting it after a request by White House officials who
said disclosing it would end a very successful intelligence
push.
The Times said it was now publishing the report because White House
officials acknowledged that news of the capture was becoming
broadly known in the region.
US officials were quoted as saying that in addition to the
Taliban's military operations, Mullah Baradar ran the group's
leadership council, often called the Quetta Shura.
The Times said the participation of Pakistan's spy service in
Mullah Baradar's capture could suggest a new level of cooperation
from Pakistan's leaders, who it said had been ambivalent about US
efforts against the Taliban.
It quoted former CIA official Bruce Riedel as saying he had not
been aware of Mullah Baradar's capture before being told by the
Times, but that the raid constituted a sea change in Pakistani
behaviour.
