Taliban leader Omar escapes capture

Deposed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar has escaped from his mountain hideout in Afghanistan on a motorbike, according to unconfirmed reports.

Anti-Taliban forces had closed in on Baghran, north of Kandahar, where Omar was believed to be hiding with one thousand five hundred fighters.

An Afghan official has said that Omar managed to escape capture on a motorbike with four of his men.

The country’s head of intelligence in Kandahar, Haji Gulalai, said that other Taliban fighters surrendered to anti-Taliban forces.

Confusion now surrounds the whereabouts of Omar, who is the Allies’ second most wanted man after Osama bin Laden.

The US remains adamant that no deal has been brokered with the Taliban’s former spiritual leader.

Meanwhile in eastern Afghanistan, US warplanes pounded an al Qaida compound and training ground near the town of Khost for the second day.