Top Taliban commander captured, U.S. official says

Washington (CNN) -- The Taliban's top military leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been captured, a senior administration official told CNN late Monday.

This is a "huge deal," CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen said. "This guy ... is the number two political figure in the Taliban" to the group's founder, Mullah Muhammad Omar.

Baradar, an Afghan, was also a close associate of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden ahead of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Baradar was captured several days ago in a secret joint operation by Pakistani and American intelligence forces in Karachi, Pakistan, according to American government officials, The New York Times reported.

The Times also reported that Baradar has been in Pakistani custody for several days, the officials said. American and Pakistani intelligence officials are taking part in interrogations, they told the newspaper.

"The critical issue is how much will he talk and provide information on ... where the Taliban in Pakistan are and ... where Osama bin Laden is," said Robin Wright, a fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Bergen said Baradar also would have been in regular contact with Omar.

The arrest comes as some 15,000 Afghan and NATO forces are battling the Taliban in Marjah in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province in Operation Moshtarak.

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