Afghan Taliban leader likely killed in U.S. strike, Pentagon says

The Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor has likely been killed in American drone strike on the Pakistan side of the remote border region with Afghanistan in a mission authorized by U.S. President Barack Obama, a U.S. official says.

The airstrike was carried out along the Durand Line in a remote area of Pakistan, southwest of the town of Ahmad Wal.

Mansoor was reportedly travelling a vehicle which was targeted by multiple drones, a senior US defense official has said.

A foreign TV channel based in the Gulf region said that Taliban had denied the death of Mullah Mansoor.

The former Afghan intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil has also written regarding the airstrike targeting Mansoor in his Twitter account.

“Akhtar Mansoor joined Mullah Omar, he was living in Gardi Jangal area of Quetta, Pakistan. Seems it was a good airstrike by US,” the Twitter post by Nabil said.

If confirmed, the death would be a serious blow to the organization. Mansoor became its leader last July, when it was revealed that reclusive long-time head, Mullah Omar, had died two years prior. Mansoor had been his deputy.

Born in 1960s, Mullah Mansoor officially became the top Afghan Taliban leader on July 30, 2015, a day after the news about the death of former Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar was disclosed.

The appointment of Mullah Mansoor as the new Supreme Leader of Taliban led to widening rift among the Taliban ranks which resulted into deadly clashes on numerous occassions among his supporters and the dissident Taliban leaders.

Mansoor was however supported by the notorious Haqqani terrorist network which is also believed to be based in Pakistan as the network’s leader was appointed as the deputy chief of the Taliban group.

The news about the death of Mullah Mansoor came at a time when Afghan Taliban had refused to come back to the negotiation table despite the repeated efforts made by the Pakistani side along with other countries for the peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.