A senior commander with the Afghan Taliban says the militant group's leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour has been killed in a US drone strike. Mullah Abdul Rauf told AP on Sunday that Mansour died in the strike late Friday night. Afghanistan's spy agency has confirmed that Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour has been killed after the US targeted him in a drone strike. The drone targeted his vehicle in a remote area of southwest Pakistan, near the Afghan border, on Saturday.
The Afghan National Security Directorate said on Sunday Mansour had been killed in the Dalbandi area of Balochistan province—the first official confirmation of the killing of Taliban leader.
The office of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani confirmed the strike but could not confirm Mansour's death. Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, however, says Mansour is "more than likely" dead.
Mansour formally led the Taliban after the death of the movement's founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, was announced last summer.
