The leader of the Taliban has been killed in a US drone strike, according to the Afghan spy agency.
Mullah Akhtar Mansour is understood to have died in Saturday’s strike, which targeted the leader and another combatant as they rode in a vehicle in a remote area of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, south-west of the town of Ahmad Wal, close to the border with Afghanistan.
The US has not yet confirmed the leader's death, but Secretary of State John Kerry said the strike had targeted Mansour, who has led the extremist group since July last year.
“Mansour posed a continuing, imminent threat” to US personnel and Afghans, he said.
“This action sends a clear message to the world that we will continue to stand with our Afghan partners as they work to build a more stable, united, secure and prosperous Afghanistan.
“Peace is what we want. Mansour was a threat to that effort and to bringing an end to the violence and suffering people of Afghanistan have endured for so many years now. He was also directly opposed to the peace negotiation and to the reconciliation process.”
The Afghan National Security Directorate today confirmed the killing.
The Taliban has not made any official statement about the death.
A battle for succession of the leadership may now ensue, deepening fractures that emerged in the insurgent movement after the death of its founder Mullah Mohammad Omar was confirmed last year, more than two years after he died.
US officials said Saturday’s mission was authorised by President Barack Obama and included multiple drones.
The Afghan government said it had been informed of the strike by Washington.
Abdullah Abdullah, chief executive of the Afghan government, said Mansour’s death would have a positive impact on attempts to bring peace to Afghanistan, where the Taliban has been waging an insurgency for 15 years.
Mansour was the “main figure preventing the Taliban joining the peace process,” he said.
“From the day he took over the Taliban following the death of Mullah Omar, he intensified violence against ordinary citizens, especially in Afghanistan.”
In December, Mansour was reportedly wounded and possibly killed in a shoot-out at the house of an insurgent leader near Quetta in Pakistan. The Taliban eventually released an audio recording, purportedly from Mansour, to dispel the reports.
A US intelligence analyst said Mansour had been in a power struggle with Mullah Mohammad Rasoul, whose deputy, Mullah Dadullah, was killed late last year in what officials believe was a fight with Mansour’s more hard-line faction.
But the official said it would be wrong to believe that a shake-up within the group might diminish the Taliban's strength.
“The Taliban have made considerable progress in Helmand [province] and elsewhere so it's hard to see much incentive for them to start compromising now, with the fighting just heating up again,” he said.
The new US commander in Afghanistan is reviewing its strategy, including whether broader powers are needed to target insurgents and whether to proceed with plans to reduce the number of US forces.
Additional reporting by Reuters and AP
