US drone attack kills Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansur, confirms White House

Conflict

Crisis/Conflict/Terrorism

23 May 2016, 11:44 am Print

Brussels, May 23 (JEN) Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansur was killed in an air-strike on Saturday in Pakistan confirmed the US and the Afghanistan governments on Monday, according to media reports.

Tweeted Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan's chief executive on May 22, "#Taliban leader #AkhtarMansoor was killed in a drone strike in Quetta, #Pakistan at 04:30 pm yesterday. His car was attacked in Dahl Bandin."

The drone strike in a remote area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border targeted Mansur and another male combatant travelling with him in a vehicle was likely killed too, the CNN reported quoting White House officials.

According to media reports, Mullah Akhtar Mansur assumed command of the Taliban forces following the death of Mullah Mohammed Omar in 2013 in Pakistan.

"We have removed the leader of an organization that has continued to plot against and unleash attacks on American and Coalition forces, to wage war against the Afghan people, and align itself with extremist groups," President Obama said in a statement.

CNN quoted United Nations saying that he was an active recruiter in the Taliban's fight against the Afghan government.

However, Pakistan has said that the drone operation was in violation of the country's sovereignty, media reported.

However, speaking at a news conference in Myanmar, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the US government had informed the Pakistan government of the strike.

NATO General Secretary said in a statement that under Mullah Mansur's leadership, the Taliban continued to conduct brutal attacks across Afghanistan, leading to the death and suffering of countless Afghan civilians and security forces, and posing a major daily threat to the forces of the US and other NATO Allies and partners.

#US drone attack #Taliban leader #Mullah Akhtar Mansur #White House