Afghan security forces have captured fugitive Taleban leader Mullah Omar's former security chief, officials say. Mullah Naqibullah Toor is reported to have been picked up with another Taleban commander on Monday in the southern city of Kandahar. Provincial government spokesman Khalid Pashtun confirmed the arrests. Mullah Naqibullah Toor was unarmed when he was arrested late on Monday after a tip-off, Kandahar officials say. He headed Mullah Omar's household security when the Taleban controlled Afghanistan, but the BBC's Rahimullah Yusufzai, a long-time watcher of the Taleban, says it is not clear how important a role he has played in recent years.
| Oh, he's probably harmless. Just let him go... |
Afghan officials accuse Mullah Naqibullah Toor of a string of attacks, and say his arrest is highly significant. "It will definitely help to reduce bomb attacks and insurgency in Kandahar because he was the main person organising these kind of attacks," Kandahar police chief Khan Mohammed told AFP news agency.
| Wouldn't that statement tend to negate the previous statement that it's not clear how important a role he's played in recent years? (Who the hell writes this stuff?) |
Officials say Mullah Naqibullah Toor was seized along with a second man, Mullah Qayyum Angar, an alleged Taleban commander accused of involvement in recent violence in the province. The Taleban were ousted in late 2001 when US forces invaded Afghanistan following attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. The Taleban had given sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden and members of his al-Qaeda network, who carried out are accused of carrying out the attacks. |