Wanted: Missing ministers on the run

Supreme leader

Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban's supreme leader, broke his reclusive lifestyle by fleeing Kandahar hours before it fell. His refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks infuriated his lieutenants who believe the US air strikes could have been averted and the regime saved.

For that reason some former followers apparently boycotted his entourage, which was reportedly sighted at a cave complex near Baghran vilage in Helmand province

Foreign minister

Wakil Ahmed Mutawakil has made one of the most effective disappearing acts despite being one of the Taliban's best-known faces. One of the regime's so-called moderates, he made friends in high places in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, friendships sure to be tested

Defence boss

Obaidullah Akham, the former defence minister, failed to combat US air power but had the foresight to be in the southern stronghold of Kandahar when the regime fell, ensuring safe passage to the mountains. Thought to be still in Afghanistan.

Interior minister

Abdul Razaq, the Taliban's interior minister, shocked the world in 1996 when he led the group which stormed the United Nations compound in Kabul hosting the former president, Najibullah, who was tortured and hanged. He fled Kandahar for Spin Boldak, a desert outpost on the border with Pakistan

Army chief

Fazel Ahmad Mazloom, the former chief of staff, was captured in the north after heavy fighting in and around Kunduz. He was later released by General Abdul Rashid Dostam, a maverick Uzbek warlord fighting with the Northern Alliance. The move surprised many analysts because Gen Dostam is not renowned for his mercy.

Rumours abound that the army chief is in American custody, although most believe that he is still on the run within Afghanistan