2 November, 2001, 12:55 GMT Taleban 'capture southern rebels' Reports from Afghanistan say the Taleban have captured 25 supporters of a top aide to the exiled former king.

The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press agency (AIP), which has close links to the Taleban, said execution orders had been issued for some members of the group and they were expected to be hanged on Friday.

The rebels - followers of the influential Pashtun tribal leader Hamid Karzai - were reported to have been seized after a clash in Uruzgan province in central Afghanistan.

But Mr Karzai's brother told the BBC that the reports were untrue. He said his brother had avoided capture, but that his family was "very worried" about him.

Royal mission

Mr Karzai slipped over the border a few weeks ago to rally support for the king's proposals for a loya jirga, or grand assembly, to choose a future government.

Another supporter of the king, Commander Abdul Haq, was killed by the Taleban while on a similar mission inside Afghanistan.

Speaking to the BBC earlier, Hamid Karzai said he was attracting support from Pashtun tribal leaders, one of whom said the rebels had captured 12 Taleban soldiers.

But AIP quoted Taleban sources as saying that their troops, acting on a tip-off, attacked a hideout in the district of Dehrawut on Thursday night, despite attempts by US helicopters to rescue Mr Karzai.

Four rebels were said to have been killed and several others wounded in the fighting.

However, Ahmed Wali Karzai - the rebel leader's brother - gave a different version of events, denying Taleban claims to have captured 25 of his men.

He said the rebels had fought off the attack, together with local tribesmen with whom they were negotiating at the time.

None of Mr Karzai's men - who number more than 100 - were arrested, he said, though he did not rule out that some local supporters might have been captured.

Influential

Correspondents say there is no doubt that Mr Karzai is a highly influential figure.

He comes from the same clan as the former Afghan king and is a powerful Pashtun tribal leader in his own right.

He is well educated and speaks English fluently. He served as a deputy foreign minister in Afghanistan's first mujaheddin government in 1992.

When the Taleban erupted onto Afghanistan's political scene in the early 1990s, Mr Karzai initially supported them. However, by late 1994 he had become suspicious of the movement, fearing it had been taken over by people under the control of Pakistan.

Recently he has been one of the Taleban's most outspoken critics.

After the death of Haq, he is regarded as one of the royalist camp's best hopes for rallying support.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2001