This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/8519354.stm

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Pakistan drone attack kills three Pakistan confirms Taliban arrest
(about 8 hours later)
Missiles fired by a suspected US drone aircraft have killed at least three militants in north-west Pakistan, security officials say. Pakistan has confirmed that a Taliban suspect captured earlier this month is one of the organisation's top leaders, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
The attack targeted a compound in Tapi Tolkhel village, 15km (nine miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, by the Afghan border. A military spokesman said the delay in confirmation had been due to "detailed identification procedures".
The attack came a day after US officials said a top Afghan Taliban military commander had been captured. US and Pakistani agents had seized Mullah Baradar in Karachi on 8 February, US officials said on Tuesday.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was captured in Karachi by Pakistani intelligence. But a Taliban spokesman has said Mullah Baradar, thought to be their second-in-command, is free and in Afghanistan.
A Pakistani security source told the BBC that Mullah Baradar was captured on 8 February. Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, told the BBC that Mullah Baradar was being questioned.
While security officials have confirmed the arrest, Pakistan's government and top US officials have refused to be drawn, and the Taliban have denied it. He called it an "important arrest", but gave no other details.
Mullah Baradar's capture comes amid a major Nato-led offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. A military statement said several people had been arrested in the same raid but revealed little else "due to security reasons".
Surge in strikes There was no confirmation from Pakistani officials that it had been a joint US-Pakistani operation that netted the man thought to have been running the Taliban's military operations in Afghanistan.
Wednesday's drone attack was the second attack on the village this week, officials said. Getting tough
Two people were wounded in the attack, they said. Mullah Baradar is also believed to have run Taleban's leadership council and control their finances.
However, there was no information about the identity of those killed or wounded in the strike. The news of his arrest came as Nato forces and Afghan troops are conducting a major offensive against the Taliban in southern Helmand province, an area Mullah Baradar is believed to have been responsible for.
The regions of North and South Waziristan are known sanctuaries for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. MULLAH BARADAR Second-in-charge behind Taliban founder Mullah OmarIn charge of Taliban's military operations and financial affairsBorn in Dehrawood district, Uruzgan province, in 1968Former deputy defence minister for the Taliban regime Source: Interpol, news agencies class="" href="/2/hi/south_asia/8517693.stm">Profile: Mullah Baradar class="" href="/2/hi/south_asia/8518127.stm">Is the arrest a breakthrough? class="" href="/2/hi/americas/8518940.stm">NY Times explains news delay
His influence is said to be second only to that of the Taliban's spiritual leader, Mullar Muhammad Omar, who has been hiding from Western agencies since the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001.
The arrest suggests Pakistan is getting tough with Afghan Taliban leaders sheltering there, says the BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad, something that has long been a demand of the White House.
It could also put pressure on other Taliban leaders to enter into talks with the Afghan government and coalition forces, something Mullah Baradar is believed to favour, our correspondent says.
Afghan and Nato leaders have said reconciliation talks with more moderate Taliban members could be pursued to end the insurgency.
Drone attacks
Meanwhile, missiles fired by a suspected US drone aircraft have killed at least three militants in north-west Pakistan, security officials say.
The attack targeted a compound in Tapi Tolkhel village, 15km (9.3 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, by the Afghan border.
The regions of North and South Waziristan are known sanctuaries for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who move easily across the mountainous border into Afghanistan.
They are frequently targeted by drone attacks, and there have been more than a dozen such strikes in 2010 alone.They are frequently targeted by drone attacks, and there have been more than a dozen such strikes in 2010 alone.
The US has stepped up drone attacks in north-west Pakistan since a suicide bomber killed seven CIA agents across the border in Afghanistan in December.
More than 700 people have died in nearly 80 drone strikes since August 2008, with the frequency of strikes increased under President Barack Obama's administration.
Pakistan has publicly criticised drone attacks, saying they fuel support for militants, but observers say the authorities privately condone the strikes.
The American military does not routinely confirm drone operations, but analysts say the US is the only force capable of deploying such aircraft in the region.