Taleban capture key
opponent
Abdul Haq (right): Hero of anti-Soviet resistance
Taleban forces in Afghanistan have captured a prominent opposition commander, Abdul Haq, after surrounding his hiding place south of the capital, Kabul.
A Taleban spokesman said he had been seized despite efforts by American helicopters to rescue him.
Correspondents say the arrest marks a major setback in US-backed efforts to replace the Taleban regime with a broad-based and multi-ethnic government.
Commander Haq is thought to have slipped back into the country from Pakistan with the aim of winning over his fellow Pashtuns and moderate elements within the Taleban.
He is being held in Jalalabad, his brother Haji Din Mohammad told a news conference in neighbouring Pakistan.
"Our appeal to the Afghan and peace-loving people is that they should put pressure on the Taleban not to harm a man who was making peace efforts," he said.
In other developments:
The Red Cross says US bombs have hit one of its compounds in Kabul for the second time, destroying vital food stocks A worker for the US State Department tests positive for anthrax Traces of anthrax are found in a mail sorting facility of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) but officials say the amount is "medically insignificant" US media reports suggest those killed in the World Trade Center attacks in New York could number fewer than 3,000, in contrast to an official figure of 4,167 Doctors in Kabul hospitals appeal for an end to the US air raids, saying they are now having to operate on the wounded in conditions reminiscent of the 19th century Two scientists who helped Pakistan become a nuclear power are questioned over alleged links to the Taleban.
Click here to see a map of reported air strikes
News of Abdul Haq's capture came just hours before the UK Government announced that it is to deploy ground troops to help US-led operations against Osama Bin Laden and the Taleban in Afghanistan.
A force of 200 commandos will operate from warships off the coast of Pakistan, with another 400 on stand-by in the United Kingdom to go to the region if needed.
After nearly three weeks of air strikes, US commanders have admitted that Afghanistan's Taleban rulers - who are sheltering Bin Laden - are proving "tough" opponents.
American warplanes have continued to bomb the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Friday - the Muslim day of prayer.
Residents reported hearing at least two loud explosions around midday, and said a thick column of smoke was rising from one area.
Resistance hero
Abdul Haq played a leading role in fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980s.
He had been critical of the current US bombing campaign, saying it could damage his attempts to win over moderate elements within the Taleban.
The Taleban say his capture - in the province of Logar - was the result of a careful military operation.
One account says he tried to flee on horseback with several colleagues as the Taleban closed in, and called for American air cover by satellite phone.
"The Taleban are congratulating each other by radio on the capture of commander Abdul Haq, declaring this to be a great success," the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said.
Commander Haq, as he is still often called, is a Pashtun, like the Taleban.
Diplomacy first
Earlier this week, he told the BBC's Matthew Grant he would be ready to take up arms again if he could see no other way forward - but first he wanted to try his hand at diplomacy.
He backs efforts to return 87-year-old former King Mohammed Zahir Shah to power.
The Taleban have warned the king's supporters they will face dire consequences if they enter Afghanistan.
: Detailed map
Click here for a more detailed map of the strikes so far
"We advise the supporters of Zahir Shah not try to enter into Afghanistan and to give up your nefarious motives. Otherwise you will face dangerous consequences," said Taleban intelligence chief Qari Ahmedullah quoted by the Afghan Islamic Press.
Another prominent Afghan Pashtun, Hamid Karzai, is said to be in Taleban-held Afghanistan on a similar mission to Abdul Haq.
Reuters news agency says according to
his family, Mr Karzai, an Afghan noble,
entered the country the day after the US
bombing of Afghanistan began.
-- Anonymous, October 26, 2001