Afghan authorities scrambled on Sunday to confirm the fate of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour after US officials said he was likely killed in drone strikes — a potential blow to the resurgent militant movement.
The Taliban have not commented officially on the very rare US attack deep inside Pakistan on Saturday, authorised by President Barack Obama, which could scupper any immediate prospect of peace talks.
The apparent elimination of Mansour, who had consolidated power following a bitter Taliban leadership struggle over the past year, could also spark new succession battles within the fractious movement.
“Mansour was the target and was likely killed” in the remote Pakistani town of Ahmad Wal in Balochistan province by multiple unmanned aircraft operated by US special forces, an American official said Saturday.
Washington: An American drone strike targeted and “likely killed” Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a remote area of Pakistan on Saturday, US officials said, in a major and rare American military raid in the country.
The air strike, authorized by President Barack Obama, also killed a second adult male combatant as the pair traveled in a vehicle southwest of the town of Ahmad Wal near the Afghan border, a US official said.
“Mansour was the target and was likely killed” by the strikes, which were carried out around 6:00 am (1000 GMT) by multiple unmanned aircraft operated by US Special Operations Forces, the US official added, speaking on conditions of anonymity. There were no other known casualties.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s office on Sunday confirmed the strike, adding that they were investigating whether Mansour had in fact been killed.
The deaths of Taliban leaders have often been falsely reported. Mansour himself was rumoured to have been killed last December.
“The Afghan government is trying to gather details regarding the fate of Mullah Mansour,” the presidential palace said in a statement.
“This drone strike shows that terrorists fuelling conflict will not be safe anywhere.”
Two Pakistani intelligence officials told AFP the drones struck a Toyota Corolla near the city of Quetta, killing two people whose bodies were burned beyond recognition.
They did not confirm whether Mansour was among them but said the bodies had been moved to a hospital in Quetta.
A member of the Quetta Shura, the Taliban’s leadership council, told AFP that Mansour had been unreachable on his mobile phone since Saturday night.
“We are not sure if something is really wrong or he purposely switched off his phone fearing an attack,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Mansour was formally appointed head of the Taliban in July last year following the revelation that the group’s founder Mullah Omar had been dead for two years.
The group saw a resurgence under the firebrand supremo with striking military victories, helping to cement his authority by burnishing his credentials as a commander.
The Taliban briefly captured the strategic northern city of Kunduz last September in their most spectacular victory in 14 years. The southern opium-rich province of Helmand is also almost entirely under insurgent control.
“Mansour posed… an imminent threat to US personnel, Afghan civilians and Afghan security forces,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Myanmar Sunday.
“He was also directly opposed to peace negotiations.”
But Mansour’s apparent death was not immediately seen as likely to push the Taliban closer to peace talks. It could press them to show they are still able to wage an aggressive battle, observers say.
“The war has been going on for so long, the Taliban has so many leaders and so much ability to function at the local level even without strong central guidance, that we would be well advised to keep expectations in check,” said Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution think-tank.
The drone attack came just days after representatives from the US, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan held another round of negotiations in Islamabad aimed at reviving long-stalled direct peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
However pressure has been building in recent months for the United States to return to direct attacks on the Taliban, particularly via air strikes.
NATO ended its combat mission in Afghanistan in December 2014, pulling out the bulk of its troops, although a 13,000-strong residual force remains for training and counterterrorism operations.
The Taliban, who announced the start of their annual spring offensive last month, have already stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed Kabul government for the season.
If Mansour’s death is confirmed, his two newly named deputies — influential religious leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Sirajuddin Haqqani — could likely step up to fill the power vacuum.
Omar’s son Mullah Yakoub, although deemed young and inexperienced, is also favoured by some Taliban commanders for the leader’s post.
Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour killed, Afghans confirm
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 south-west Pakistan, near the Afghan border, on Saturday.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Mansour had posed “a continuing, imminent threat to US personnel”.
Mansour assumed the leadership in July 2015, replacing Taliban founder and spiritual head Mullah Mohammad Omar.
The Afghan National Security Directorate (NDS) said on Sunday that Mansour had been killed in the Dalbandi area of Balochistan province – the first official confirmation of the killing of the Taliban leader.
Who is Mullah Mansour?
- Long seen as acting head of the Taliban, and close to its founder Mullah Omar
- Born in the 1960s, in Kandahar province, where he later served as shadow governor after the Taliban’s fall
- Was civil aviation minister during the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan
- Had an active role in drug trafficking, according to the UN
- Has clashed with Abdul Qayum Zakir, a senior military commander, amid a power struggle and differences over negotiations with the Afghan government
- A man claiming to be Mansour met former Afghan President Hamid Karzai for peace talks in 2010 – but it later emerged he was an imposter
Profile: Mullah Akhtar Mansour
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