Mullah Mohammad Omar And Other Taliban Officials Hide In Kandahar

Haji Gul Agha, the former governor of Kandahar, stated that Mullah Mohammad Omar, the spiritual leader of the Taliban movement, and several more Taliban officials were still hiding in the town. According to the Al-Jazeera TV-station, a spokesman for former governor Khaled Pushtun stated that field commander Mullah Najibullah who had ruled in Kandahar on Mullah Mohammad Omar's order before it was surrendered, had given shelter to approximately 2,000 Taliban fighters and foreign mercenaries. Pushtun also reported that in the nearby Kandahar air field about 300 Arab mercenaries were threatening to blow themselves up with grenades if there was an attempt to imprison them. Gul Agha has previously reported that he does not recognise the agreement signed by Mullah Mahammad Omar envisaging the surrender of the town and Najibullah's appointment as the head of the town. Following a combat, Gul Aghi's troops have seized the part of the town where the residence of the former governor is located. A commission, which includes Hamid Karzai, the Premier of the Afghan interim government, Haji Gul Agha and Mullah Najibullah, has been set up in order to settle conflicts and problems in Kandahar. Karzai stated that Mullah Mohammad Omar had violated the agreement and had not surrendered to the new authorities. He added that he would be extradited to the international trial if he were captured.