Afghan forces are closing in on several senior Taliban commanders after a major US-backed offensive in the southwest killed over 100 militants, officials said today.
The commanders included Mullah Dadullah, a member of the Taliban's 10-man leadership council headed by elusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, and Mullah Brother, another commander thought close to Omar.
The operation involved Afghan security forces, as well as US helicopter gunships and ground troops.
An army commander said over 150 Taliban, including Dadullah and Brother, were being targeted in the Dai Chopan area on the border of Kandahar and Zabul provinces - the scene of bloody clashes on Tuesday and yesterday.
He said troops were closing in from three sides to try to capture them, which would be a major coup for the government of President Hamid Karzai, who came to power after US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001.
US-led forces overthrew the Taliban government after it refused to hand over al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11th attacks on the United States.
Three-and-a-half years on, 20,000 mostly American troops along with Afghan forces are pursuing the militants but have been unable to subdue the insurgency, or to catch bin Laden or Omar.