Taliban key commander in S. Afghanistan gives up fighting

A key commander of Taliban militants named Mullah Momin in southern Afghanistan gave up fighting and joined the government in the southern Uruzgan province late Tuesday night, a senior police officer in the region said Wednesday.

"Taliban famous commander in the southern provinces, Mullah Momin came to the police department in Deh Rawad district surprisingly late last night and handed over his weapon to police, " district police chief Mohammad told Xinhua.

"After handing over his weapon to police, Mullah Momin said that since the foreign forces left Uruzgan province, there is no reason to fight against the government there," Mohammad said, adding that Momin surrendered alone.

Australian forces who had served in Uruzgan province left the region around a month ago, leaving the security responsibility to Afghan national security forces.

Mullah Momin whose real name is Hamidullah from neighboring Kandahar province had been fighting against Afghan and NATO-led forces in Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces over the past couple of years.

The Taliban outfit has yet to make comment.

It could be a major setback for the Taliban militants if the claim of Mullah Momin's surrender to police is accurate.