MOSCOW (Sputnik) – US officials and the Pentagon said a drone strike targeting Mullah Mansour’s vehicle killed the Taliban leader near the remote southwestern Pakistani town of Ahmwad Wal along the Afghan border on Saturday.
"The Taliban leader killed yesterday afternoon in an airstrike," the KHAD intelligence agency said.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's office confirmed in a statement Sunday that the United States carried out a drone strike targeting Mansour, adding that it would provide further details if his death was confirmed. Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah speculated earlier that the Taliban leader's purported death would lead to "big changes" in its leadership.
Mansour succeeded longtime Taliban leader Mullah Omar after his death in 2013 was confirmed in mid-2015.
