Australian soldiers have captured a key Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan.
The Defence Department said that elite Australian troops in Uruzgan had last week taken in Mullah Bari Ghul.
They believe he is a central figure in extremist attacks in the region.
Defence chiefs said Mullah Bari Ghul organised money, equipment and foreign fighters for extremist operations in Uruzgan and acted as shadow governor authorising attacks across the region.
Brigadier Brian Dawson said Mullah Bari Ghul was also ultimately responsible for the 13 July suicide bomber attack in the Deh Rawood bazaar that killed 21 Afghans and injured a further 12.
Brigadier Dawson said the capture of Bari Ghul, who was also involved in coordinating the actions of individual insurgency cells, would likely have an immediate impact on militant activity in the region.
No details about the capture were revealed. Mullah Bari Ghul is being held in a Dutch detention facility in Tarin Kwot, Uruzgan.
Australia has about 1,000 troops based in Uruzgan province, most of whom are assisting a Dutch-led reconstruction operation in Uruzgan, a former Taliban stronghold.
Australia has deployed troops to Afghanistan for much of the time since the Taliban government was ousted in a US-led invasion for harbouring Al-Qaeda leaders after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.
