Afghan security forces captured a brother-in-law of fugitive Taleban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar on Tuesday after a shoot-out in which one government soldier was killed, officials said.
The man, Mullah Amanullah, was arrested during a pre-dawn raid in the central province of Uruzgan, Omar's home province, they said.
"He is in our custody," said the chief of police in Uruzgan, Roozi Khan, referring to Amanullah.
Omar had four wives and its was not immediately known how many brothers-in-law he had but one official said Amanullah's arrest might provide clues in the hunt for Omar.
Mullah Omar is among the militants most wanted by Afghan and US forces, and is believed to be actively involved in co-ordinating an insurgency against foreign and local troops in Afghanistan that has claimed hundreds of lives this year.
Omar has been on the run since the Taleban fled Kabul in November 2001 as US-backed forces advanced on the city. His whereabouts remain a mystery.
"He can not hide himself forever. I am certain that this arrest is a step towards capturing him," said President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Jawed Ludin.
But Khan, who said a government soldier was killed during the raid in which Amanullah was seized, was not so optimistic about capturing Omar. He suggested Omar was hiding out in Pakistan's wild tribal lands, just over the border from Afghanistan.
"It is impossible to capture him here," Khan said.