Senior Afghan Taliban commander killed in air strike
A top commander of the Taliban has been killed in
Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand in a joint operation by Afghan and
US Special Forces, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Abdul Manan, who was in charge of Helmand province
for the insurgent group, was killed along with 29 others by an air strike on
Saturday while he was meeting local commanders and fighters in the Nawzad
district, Helmand provincial governor Mohammad Yasin Khan said.
His death was confirmed by Taliban members in
Helmand and neighboring Kandahar province but there was no initial confirmation
from the US military, which said it was looking into the incident.
The death of Mullah Manan, who commanded Taliban fighters
as they steadily increased their control over Helmand in the years following
the end of most international combat missions in 2014, was seen as a major
success by Afghan officials.
