Islamabad  - Pakistani security forces supported by a tribal militia arrested a Taliban spokesman in the restive north-western region bordering Afghanistan, intelligence officials said Tuesday.

Maulvi Omar of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a loose alliance of more than a dozen militant groups, was detained in the Mohmand tribal district Monday night.

"Maulvi Omar and two of his colleagues were moving towards Bajaur [district] in a car when troops assisted by militiamen cornered them," an intelligence official said on condition of anonymity. He did not identify Omar's associates.

Omar used to claim credit for most of the terrorist attacks carried out by the Taliban militants across Pakistan. However, he stopped calling reporters in recent months after government forces stepped up counterinsurgency operations in the lawless tribal region.

He also spoke for top Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who was supposedly killed in a US missile strike on his stronghold of South Waziristan earlier this month.

Pakistani and US authorities say they are almost certain about Mehsud's death, and claim the development has triggered bloody infighting among Taliban leaders over succession. The rebels have rejected those versions. (dpa)