Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Australian soldiers captured a senior Taliban commander responsible for roadside bombings across southern Uruzgan province, the Department of Defence said.

The capture of Mullah Bari Ghul is a ``significant blow to the Taliban extremists' command and control of the province,'' defense spokesman Brigadier Brian Dawson said in a statement yesterday. Ghul, referred to in the statement as the ``shadow governor'' of Uruzgan, coordinated Taliban cells and organized equipment, money and fighters for the insurgency, he said.

``He was also ultimately responsible for the July 13 suicide bomber attack in the Deh Rawood bazaar that killed 21 Afghans and injured a further 12,'' according to the statement. Ghul was captured last week, it said, without elaborating.

The commander was transferred to a prison run by Dutch forces fighting under NATO command and his ``incarceration will be negotiated'' between the Afghan government and the alliance's International Security Assistance Force, the statement said.

Australia has about 1,000 soldiers under NATO in Afghanistan, as the alliance fights Taliban insurgents and tries to stabilize the country under President Hamid Karzai.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has about 53,000 soldiers in Afghanistan fighting supporters of the Taliban regime that was ousted by a U.S.-led coalition in late 2001.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 10, 2008 20:13 EDT