Pentagon Targeted And “Likely Killed” Taliban Leader In Airstrike
Reuters
The U.S. military has launched an airstrike against Taliban leader Mullah Mansour, Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook said Saturday.
The strike occurred in a remote area near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, where officials said the Taliban leader was actively planning attacks on facilities in Kabul and throughout Afghanistan.
An unnamed U.S. official told a number of media outlets the terrorist leader had "likely" been killed in the attack.
The strike took place around 6 a.m. ET Saturday, an unnamed U.S. official told CNN.
Mansour rose to power in July 2015 when Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani confirmed that Mullah Mohammad Omar, the group's previous leader, had died in Pakistan in April 2013.
The Pentagon said in a statement the airstrike was one was more “step to make our troops safer in Afghanistan.”
"[Mansour] has been an obstacle to peace and reconciliation between the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban, prohibiting Taliban leaders from participating in peace talks with the Afghan government that could lead to an end to the conflict," the statement read.
Since taking leadership, the Taliban have conducted multiple attacks that have resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians and security forces in the country, officials said.
Pentagon officials said the results of the strike were being assessed.
Officials said that a second man who may have been traveling with Mansour could also have been killed.
The day after the announcement of Omar's death, the Taliban announced Mansour as its new leader.
Mansour has been characterized within the Taliban as a "moderate" member, and had advocated for peace talks in Pakistan before the announcement of Omar's death.
The targeted leader had also spoken publicly about the importance of keeping ISIS out of Afghanistan.
He once wrote in June 2015 that "Jihad against the American invaders and its puppets should be carried out under a single flag, a single leadership, and a single order."