US : Taliban Military Leader Captured In Raid
US : Taliban Military Leader Captured In Raid
James Jordan
The top Taliban military chief, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been captured in Pakistan, US officials say.Residents search for victims a day after a suicide bomb attack in Shah Hasan Khan in Bannu district, bordering the Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan. Mullah Baradar, who is effectively the second in command of the Taliban, was captured in a joint operation between the Pakistani intelligence agency, known as the ISI, and the CIA. The raid took place several days ago in the city of Karachi. But a Taliban spokesman denied Mullah Baradar had been captured and 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. US officials say he is the most significant Taliban figure captured since the start of the Afghanistan war. But one American official warned: "Even when you get their leaders, they've shown an amazing resilience to bounce back. It's an adaptive organisation." Sky's Alex Crawford said: "The man is being interrogated primarily by the ISI but also by the Americans.
"It's not clear exactly where is being held, whether he is still in Karachi or not - I would doubt that as they would be very wary of attempts to try to kill him or try to free him. "According to Pakistani officials, they say he is giving them some key evidence about the whereabouts of Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders." Mullah Baradar is the Taliban's most senior figure behind the reclusive Mullah Omar, who has been hiding from Western agencies since the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001.
British forces are currently fighting alongside US and Afghan forces in NATO's biggest offensives against Taliban militants in Afghanistan - Operation Moshtarak. More than 15,000 British, American, Afghan and other troops are taking part in Moshtarak to reclaim the town of Marjah from Taliban control. Crawford added of Baradar's capture: "The timing of this announcement is very, very convenient - it will be portrayed as a good, successful coup by the Coalition troops and by the Pakistani authorities."
The New York Times newspaper said it learned of the operation to capture him on Thursday, but delayed reporting it after a request by White House officials who said disclosing it would end a very successful intelligence drive. It said it was now publishing the report because White House officials acknowledged that news of the capture was becoming broadly known in the region.
