Taliban leader reported to have fled Kandahar
A senior Taliban defector says supreme leader Mullah Omar has fled Kandahar.
The claim has been made by Mullah Mohammed Khaqzar, who left the Taliban to join the opposition Northern Alliance.
He says other Taliban leaders have also left the city as the Taliban begins to hand over its weapons.
Low-ranked Taliban fighters are returning to their homes after being granted a general amnesty, he claims.
He says al-Qaida members, as well as Chechens and Pakistanis who have been fighting with the Taliban, would probably try to escape north to Zabul province and into Pakistan.
There have been reports of looting and gunfire in Kandahar as discipline broke down among departing Taliban ranks.
But Taliban sources in the Pakistani city of Quetta, say the surrender is being conducted peacefully.
Hamid Karzai, a top opposition figure who will head Afghanistan's interim administration, confirmed the surrender by the Taliban in Kandahar has started.
He predicts the hand over will take two to three days to complete, and denies an amnesty granted to Taliban fighters has been extended to Omar.
Earlier reports suggested Mr Karzai had agreed a deal with Mullah Omar whereby the latter would get an amnesty from prosecution if he peacefully handed over control of the city of Kandahar.
However, Omar fled Kandahar after the US refused to accept the amnesty deal and insisted that he be brought to justice.
