Taliban commander captured

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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.

American and Pakistani intelligence officials are taking part in interrogations, a senior Pakistani intelligence official said.

"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.

Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan, denied that Baradar has been captured. He said Baradar is continuing his operations and is still in Afghanistan.

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.

SOURCE CNN : CNN's Ed Henry and Kiran Khalid contributed to this report.

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