Officials say three men were arrested south of Kandahar, in a vehicle carrying landmines and devices for triggering explosions.

They say two more were arrested shortly after.

At a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan's foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, described one of the detainees, Mullah Janan, as a Taleban member with notorious links to al-Qaeda.

But the authorities in Kandahar deny the man was a senior Taleban figure.