Kandahar surrender 'means end for Taliban'

Afghanistan's interim leader says the surrender of Kandahar represents the end of the Taliban.

Hamid Karzai also confirmed that Taliban leader Mohammed Omar has fled and is missing.

Karzai says he will be arrested if found.

"I have no idea where Mullah Omar is, but of course I want to arrest him. I have given him every chance to denounce terrorism and now the time has run out. He is an absconder, a fugitive from justice," Hamid Karzai said.

"The Taliban rule is finished. As of today they are no longer a part of Afghanistan," he added.

Taliban forces are surrendering in Kandahar and nearby towns.

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan's mountainous east, fierce fighting rages as heavy bombs burst around al-Qaida's cave hide-out.

A senior Taliban defector said supreme leader Omar, who is wanted by the US for sheltering Osama bin Laden, fled Kandahar to an unknown location before the surrender.

Other Taliban leaders had also left the city, their last stronghold that they had earlier vowed to defend to the death.

Low-ranked Taliban fighters are returning to their homes after being granted a general amnesty, said Mullah Mohammed Khaqzar, who left the Taliban to join the opposition Northern Alliance.