The Afghan authorities have arrested a member of the al-Qaida network in the country's eastern Khost province, the National Security Directorate (NSD) said Thursday.

A statement issued by the NSD, an intelligence service, said, "Saraj alias Abdul Wahid, a member of al-Qaida with the nationality of Azerbaijan has been arrested."

The statement failed to give the exact date of the suspect's arrest, saying Saraj admitted that he was captured in Afghanistan enroute from Baku, capital of Azerbaijan to Quetta, capital city of western Pakistan's Balochistan province.

The suspect said after receiving training courses, he joined Sirrajuddin Haqani, an al-Qaida-linked terror branch.

Saraj also confessed that he planned to carry out suicide attack in Afghanistan before departing for Pakistan.