| Ha ha! Omar will never see his lawn mower again! |
Afghan security forces captured a brother-in-law of fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar on Tuesday after a shoot-out in which one government soldier was killed, officials said. The man, Mullah Amanullah, was arrested during a pre-dawn raid in the central province of Uruzgan, Omar's home province, they said. "He is in our custody," said the chief of police in Uruzgan, Roozi Khan, referring to Amanullah. Omar had four wives and its was not immediately known how many brothers-in-law he had but one official said Amanullah's arrest might provide clues in the hunt for Omar.
| With the size of these families, could be dozens of brothers-in-law. |
Mullah Omar is among the militants most wanted by Afghan and U.S. forces, and is believed to be actively involved in coordinating an insurgency against foreign and local troops in Afghanistan that has claimed hundreds of lives this year. Mullah is a title for Muslim clerics which many senior members of the ousted Taliban use.
| It's issued with the turban. |
Omar has been on the run since the Taliban fled Kabul in November 2001 as U.S.-backed forces advanced on the city. His whereabouts remain a mystery. "He can not hide himself forever. I am certain that this arrest is a step toward capturing him," said President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Jawed Ludin. But Khan, who said a government soldier was killed during the raid in which Amanullah was seized, was not so optimistic about capturing Omar. He suggested Omar was hiding out in Pakistan's wild tribal lands, just over the border from Afghanistan. "It is impossible to capture him here," Khan said.
| Not impossible, just difficult. |
| It's harder if you meander around the countryside banging a drum. |
Pakistan, which has launched sweeps of its largely autonomous tribal areas aimed at clearing out foreign Islamic militants, denies that any top Taliban or al Qaeda leaders are hiding on its soil.
| "Nope, nobody here, the tribal laskar said so." |
Amanullah was found with money that authorities believed he was planning to distribute to Taliban fighters, who have stepped attacks in the run-up to a presidential election on October 9.
| So, the Dreaded Spring Offensive is over. Next, the Dread Election Offensive, followed by the Dread Afghan Winter, followed by..... |
He also had a satellite telephone, a pistol and an automatic rifle. Amanullah would be handed over to central government authorities if that was ordered, Khan said.
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