Previous reports of his death or capture had proved untrue

They say he died in a clash with Afghan and Western forces in Helmand province.

Soldiers took the body to the city of Kandahar, where it was shown to reporters.

The BBC's Afghanistan correspondent says Mullah Dadullah's death will be a major blow to the Taleban, who were slow to respond to the reports.

Mullah Dadullah's name has been linked with the beheading of suspected spies, controlling the guerrilla war in Helmand Province, dispatching suicide bombers and the kidnapping of westerners, including an Italian journalist and two French aid workers, both of which have since been released.

MULLAH DADULLAH Key Taleban military leader Brutal and extreme leader Lost a leg fighting Soviets in 1980s Thought to be in his 40s Hero in eyes of Taleban rank and file

Mullah Dadullah recently told the BBC that he had hundreds of suicide bombers awaiting his orders to launch an offensive against foreign troops. Suicide bombings in Afghanistan have soared since late 2005.

Our correspondent, Alastair Leithead, says the commander has produced videos showing beheadings of foreign hostages.

Previous reports of his death or capture had proved untrue, but officials displayed the body to confirm the killing.

It was not immediately clear if the commander was killed as part a major operation in Helmand province launched in early March by Nato's International Security Assistance Force and Afghan troops.

For many years Mullah Dadullah has been known to be o­ne of the most brutal and extreme Taleban leaders.

In the last 12 months he has become perhaps the most significant military commander in Afghanistan, certainly in the south where the close quarters fighting has been most intense, our correspondent says.

But it is difficult to asses the impact of his death o­n the insurgency, our correspondent says, because the Taleban's command structures are loose and fighters often operate in small, self-contained units.

'Top commander'

Mullah Dadullah was a member of the Taleban's 10-man leadership council before the US-led invasion in 2001.

He has been called "Afghanistan's top Taleban commander" by Nato officials, and is high o­n the US list of most-wanted people in the country.

Mullah Dadullah lost o­ne of his legs as a mujahideen fighter against the Soviet occupation troops in the 1980s and has since used an artificial limb.

He had the reputation of a fearless man.

Despite his disability, he fought and led major battles for the Taleban against the rival Northern Alliance forces during the 1990s.

He was o­ne of the first Taleban commanders to organise attacks against US-led coalition forces after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.

And he was the first Taleban commander to give interviews to print and electronic media after the fall of the regime.

Unlike other Taleban leaders who never allowed themselves to be photographed for religious and security reasons, Mullah Dadullah did just the opposite.

He granted an interview to the Arabic television channel al-Jazeera.

Occasionally he called journalists, including those from the BBC in Afghanistan and Pakistan, o­n his satellite phone to provide information about Taleban attacks and issue new threats against foreign and Afghan forces.