Defection of Afghan Rebel Leader Reported

An Afghan guerrilla leader has defected to the Afghanistan government with 60 of his men after working as a double agent for the last two years, a guerrilla official said Saturday.

Esmatulla Muslim had commanded about 500 guerrillas in the southern province of Kandahar, according to a senior guerrilla official, who spoke on condition he not be identified. He said Muslim took about 60 of his men with him, but more than 400 refused to defect. He did not say when Muslim defected, but said he was appointed head of the Kabul government’s border militia in Kandahar province.