Mullah Naqeebullah Khan, a commander in charge of planning unrest in and around the main southern city of Kandahar, was seized with another major Taliban figure early on Monday, a senior security official said.
Officials said it was too early to speculate whether the arrests of Khan and Mullah Qayoom Ahangar would lead to the capture of the elusive Taliban leader, who has been on the run since 2001.
Kandahar's police chief said Khan was the Taliban's head operative in the region and his arrest at a compound at Arghandab district on the outskirts of the city would dampen down the insurgency in the area.
"I don't know if it will help in the capture of Mullah Omar but it will definitely help to reduce bomb attacks and insurgency in Kandahar because he was the main person organizing these kind of attacks," said the police chief, Khan Mohammed.
The Afghan security official said Ahangar had been responsible for nine deaths in the Kandahar region in the run-up to the October 9 presidential elections.
Authorities had found documents in the compound where the men were seized which showed the Taliban structure in the Kandahar region and could lead to further arrests, he added.
"We are making significant progress since yesterday," he said.
Khan had been in charge of planning attacks in Kandahar province and Deh Chopan district in neighboring Uruzgan province, which is a hotbed of the Taliban insurgency, officials added.
© 2004 Agence France-Presse
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