Taliban chief Dadullah 'surrounded'

About 200 Taliban are believed to be with Dadullah, one of Nato's most-wanted men, in the province of Uruzgan, a senior official in the Afghan intelligence service said.

Taliban spokesmen have told Al Jazeera that heavy fighting and bombing is going on in Uruzgan province, but they said Dadullah was currently in Helmand province.

Nato has made no comment.

"This is a very significant development if it's true - and certainly in the past there have been sightings of Mullah Dadullah in Uruzgan province," James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Afghanistan, said.

"In fact, on some of the Taliban's own propoganda videos Mullah Dadullah is seen and experts have analysed the videos and the mountains in the back certainly are Uruzgan province."

'Spring offensive'


Dadullah confirmed in an interview with Al Jazeera in March that the Taliban were planning a large-scale offensive.

"Our readiness for the next spring offensive is great and very huge as we precisely reconsider our previous strategy [in order that] we learn new effective fighting tactics and methods," he said.

"We have many suicide bombers for carrying [out] hundreds of suicide bombings during the coming spring offensive in Afghanistan."

However, he told Al Jazeera that he would not discuss the Taliban's plans with the media.

"We cannot talk about the new tactics to the media ... [they] must be kept secret," he said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8A039FB7-FA28-42D6-AC53-4077EC9A6F65.htm