Fox News: Top Taliban chief captured in Pakistan
The Fox News in the United States reports on Monday evening that the Taliban’s top military commander was captured in a joint operation by U.S. and Pakistani forces in Karachi. His name is Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar who is the most important Taliban figure to be caught in eight years, since the war in Afghanistan began. He is close to the Islamic group's spiritual leader Mullah Muhammad Omar and to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Bruce O. Riedel, an ex-C.I.A. officer who led the Obama administration's Afghanistan and Pakistan policy review last spring told The New York Times Baradar's capture could cripple the Taliban's military operations.
Officials told the newspaper the the raid was actually carried out by the Directorate for Inter-Service Intelligence, Pakistan's military spy agency and that the C.I.A. accompanied the Pakistanis.
American, British and Afghan forces conduct a massive offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan, called Operation Mushtarak ("Together" in Dari). US Marines are leading the 15,000-strong, ground and air offensive, which US military reported is making slow progress.
On Sunday, 12 civilians were accidentally killed when two rockets fired by coalition forces missed their target and hit a home. NATO has apologized for the deadly accident, but a human rights group is appealing to both sides to spare civilians (see video of VOA's Ravi Khanna below).
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