WASHINGTON — The Taliban's top military commander has been captured in Pakistan in a joint operation by Pakistani and US intelligence forces, the
New York Times reported overnight Monday.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has been in Pakistan's custody for several days, the newspaper reported on its Web site, quoting US government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Baradar was captured in Karachi, Pakistan, in a raid by Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, with CIA operatives accompanying the Pakistanis, the
Times reported. Pakistan has been leading the interrogation of Baradar, but Americans were also involved, it said.
The
Times described Baradar as
the No. 2 behind Taliban founder and Osama bin Laden associate Mullah
Muhammad Omar. Baradar has been running the battlefield command for the
Taliban since the 2006 death of Taliban military chief Mullah Akhtar
Mohammed Usmani.
The
Times
said it learned of the operation Thursday but delayed reporting it at
the request of White House officials who argued that publicizing it
would end a valuable intelligence-gathering effort by making Baradar's
associates aware of his capture. The newspaper said it decided to
publish the news after White House officials acknowledged Baradar's
capture was becoming widely known in the region.
Word of
Baradar's capture came as US Marine and Afghan units pressed deeper
into the Taliban haven of Marjah in southern Afghanistan, facing
sporadic rocket and mortar fire as they moved through suspected
insurgent neighborhoods on the third day of a NATO offensive to reclaim
the town.