The Pentagon has admitted that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar may not have been in talks to surrender last week while surrounded by anti-Taliban forces in Baghran.
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Mullah Omar
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But Rear Admiral John Stufflebeem of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said there had been no firm evidence Omar was in the area.
"We probably assumed a little too much - or I should say some assumed a little too much - in assuming that the negotiations were for the surrender of Mullah Omar," said Rear Admiral Stufflebeem.
The Pentagon official also said it was unclear how the talks had ended, as there had been no Al-Qaeda or Taliban leaders handed over to US forces as a result.
"I cannot tell you that I know exactly how that has been resolved but it has not resulted in detainees that I know of," he said. "From what I gather nothing significant came of that. Whether or not Mullah Omar was ever there, we do not know."
And Rear Adm Stufflebeem said there would now be a change in US tactics in Afghanistan as troops hunt for the Taliban leader and Osama bin Laden, whose whereabouts are also unknown.
"We are going to stop chasing the shadow of where we thought he was and focus more on the entire picture of the country and look at the pockets of resistance and see what the anti-Taliban forces want," he said.