Senior Taliban Leader Caught In Afghanistan

A U.S. Marine from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, International Security Assistance Force looks through the scope of his 5.56 mm M-4 carbine rifle during operations in Garmsir, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on April 29, 2008. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Piper, U.S. Marine Corps. (Released)

Senior Taliban Leader Captured In Afghanistan:
NATO Force -- AFP

KABUL (AFP) — NATO-led soldiers have captured a Taliban commander said to have links to the most senior figures in the extremist militia that is waging an insurgency in Afghanistan, the force said Sunday.

Mullah Sakhi Dad and another insurgent were captured at a compound in the southern province of Uruzgan on Wednesday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.

He had been leading a "significant number of Taliban fighters" and was implicated in suicide bombings, the distribution of ammunition and the kidnapping of Afghan civilians, it said.

Sakhi Dad was also understood to be connected to Taliban leadership, especially Mullah Berader Akhund, the Taliban's second-in-command, it said.

It appears he was captured in 2004. Afghan officials could not be reached to confirm this although the statement said the fighter had previously been given a chance to "reconcile" with the government.

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My Comment: This is not the first time this Taliban leader has been in custody. I can only hope that they will not release him again.