Mullah Sakhi Dad and another insurgent were captured at a compound in the southern province of Uruzgan on Wednesday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.

He had been leading a 'significant number of Taliban fighters' and was implicated in suicide bombings, the distribution of ammunition and the kidnapping of Afghan civilians, it said.

Sakhi Dad was also understood to be connected to Taleban leadership, especially Mullah Berader Akhund, the Taleban's second-in-command, it said.

It appears he was captured in 2004. Afghan officials could not be reached to confirm this although the statement said the fighter had previously been given a chance to 'reconcile' with the government.

That militant, called Mullah Sakhi Dad Mujahid, was held carrying a satellite telephone containing the phone numbers of top members of the ousted fundamentalist regime including its supremo, Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Afghan officials said at the time he had been a secretary to Mullah Omar under the Taleban's 1996-2001 rule.

The US invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 and toppled the hardline Taliban government for harbouring Al-Qaeda leaders. Despite their efforts, the most senior leaders of the Taleban and other radical groups have escaped capture. -- AFP