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1 October 2011 Last updated at 12:25 GMT
Senior Haqqani terrorist Captured in Afghanistan.
A senior leader of the militant Haqqani network, Haji Mali Khan, has been captured in Afghanistan, the Nato-led international force Isaf has said.
He was detained during an operation by Afghan and coalition forces in Paktia province on Tuesday, Isaf said.
He was heavily armed but did not resist, it added.
Haji Mali Khan is the senior commander in Afghanistan for the Haqqani network, blamed for some recent Afghan attacks and accused of links to Pakistan.
He is also a revered elder of the clan, the uncle of the network's leader, Siraj Haqqani, and served as an emissary between the Haqqanis and Baitullah Mehsud, the former head of the Pakistani Taliban who was killed in a suspected US missile attack in 2009.
He is accused of setting up bases in Paktia and coordinating the transfer of money for militant operations.
The BBC's Paul Wood in Kabul says Afghan officials describe him as the brain of the network.
Change of focus
Isaf said the capture was a "significant milestone in the disruption of the Haqqani network", adding that the network remained a top priority for Afghan and coalition forces.
Map
A large number of other insurgents was captured in the operation, in Jani Khel district, including Mali Khan's deputy and bodyguard.
US officials say they are close to deciding whether to label the group as a foreign terrorist organisation, and on Thursday the Treasury Department announced new sanctions on five individuals it said are linked to "the most dangerous terrorist organisations operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan".
It said the five provided the fuel for the network, along with the Taliban and al-Qaeda, to "realise their violent aspirations".
Mali Khan's capture came days after the assassination of former Afghan president and negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani, which was blamed on the network.
The killing prompted Afghan President Hamid Karzai to say on Friday that he was focusing on talks with Pakistan rather than the Taliban.
Denial of support
Last week, the US military accused Pakistan's spy agency of helping the Haqqani militant network in a recent attack on Kabul.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm Mike Mullen, said the network was a "veritable arm" of Pakistani intelligence service the ISI.
Pakistan has long denied supporting the Haqqani group, but BBC correspondents say it has a decades-old policy of pursuing foreign policy objectives through alliances with militants.
Although Islamabad denies the network has safe havens inside Pakistan, the country's former national security adviser told the BBC that it was operating in North Waziristan, in Pakistan's restive tribal belt.
"Today North Waziristan is a hot bed," said retired Maj Gen Mahmoud Durani.
The army was too overstretched to take on the Haqqanis, he added.
The BBC's Orla Guerin says that, privately, officials admit that the group is not a target for Pakistan because its members do not kill and maim inside the country.
Senior Haqqani terrorist Captured in Afghanistan.
A senior leader of the militant Haqqani network, Haji Mali Khan, has been captured in Afghanistan, the Nato-led international force Isaf has said.
He was detained during an operation by Afghan and coalition forces in Paktia province on Tuesday, Isaf said.
He was heavily armed but did not resist, it added.
Haji Mali Khan is the senior commander in Afghanistan for the Haqqani network, blamed for some recent Afghan attacks and accused of links to Pakistan.
He is also a revered elder of the clan, the uncle of the network's leader, Siraj Haqqani, and served as an emissary between the Haqqanis and Baitullah Mehsud, the former head of the Pakistani Taliban who was killed in a suspected US missile attack in 2009.
He is accused of setting up bases in Paktia and coordinating the transfer of money for militant operations.
The BBC's Paul Wood in Kabul says Afghan officials describe him as the brain of the network.
Change of focus
Isaf said the capture was a "significant milestone in the disruption of the Haqqani network", adding that the network remained a top priority for Afghan and coalition forces.
Map
A large number of other insurgents was captured in the operation, in Jani Khel district, including Mali Khan's deputy and bodyguard.
US officials say they are close to deciding whether to label the group as a foreign terrorist organisation, and on Thursday the Treasury Department announced new sanctions on five individuals it said are linked to "the most dangerous terrorist organisations operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan".
It said the five provided the fuel for the network, along with the Taliban and al-Qaeda, to "realise their violent aspirations".
Mali Khan's capture came days after the assassination of former Afghan president and negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani, which was blamed on the network.
The killing prompted Afghan President Hamid Karzai to say on Friday that he was focusing on talks with Pakistan rather than the Taliban.
Denial of support
Last week, the US military accused Pakistan's spy agency of helping the Haqqani militant network in a recent attack on Kabul.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm Mike Mullen, said the network was a "veritable arm" of Pakistani intelligence service the ISI.
Pakistan has long denied supporting the Haqqani group, but BBC correspondents say it has a decades-old policy of pursuing foreign policy objectives through alliances with militants.
Although Islamabad denies the network has safe havens inside Pakistan, the country's former national security adviser told the BBC that it was operating in North Waziristan, in Pakistan's restive tribal belt.
"Today North Waziristan is a hot bed," said retired Maj Gen Mahmoud Durani.
The army was too overstretched to take on the Haqqanis, he added.
The BBC's Orla Guerin says that, privately, officials admit that the group is not a target for Pakistan because its members do not kill and maim inside the country.
