US President Barack Obama on Monday confirmed the death of the Afghan Taliban leader in a very rare US drone strike in Balochistan, warning that American forces would continue to go after threats on Pakistani soil.
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“If we’re really going to give the air power, the support necessary to make certain that the Afghans can hold their ground against the Taliban”, Royce said.
“Where we have a high profile leader who has been consistently part of operations and plans to potentially harm USA personnel and who has been resistant to the kinds of peace talks and reconciliation that ultimately could bring an end to decades of war in Afghanistan”, Obama said.
Earlier a senior Taliban commander told the AP that Mansour had been killed in the Noshki district, near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Senior Taliban sources have also confirmed Mansoor’s killing to AFP, adding that the Rahbari Shura (leadership council) is under way to select a new leader.
He emphasized that such actions could adversely impact the ongoing efforts by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) for facilitating peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
While the U.S. Department of Defense stated that Saturday’s precision airstrike targeted the Taliban leader, U.S. officials have yet to confirm Mansoor’s death.
The United States of America has asserted that the U.S. do respect Pakistan’s territorial integrity, but it will carry out strikes to remove terrorists who are actively pursuing, planning and directing attacks against USA forces.
The Taliban, which has a longstanding tradition of denying deaths of prominent leaders, has not yet commented on the event. Washington has not issued an official confirmation.
Mansour was chosen to head the Afghan Taliban last summer after the revelation of Omar’s death in 2013.
He served as civil aviation minister in the Taliban government which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until it was ousted by a US-led invasion in 2001, when he fled again to Pakistan.
The ministry official also said that Mansour’s alleged killing might lead to an escalation of military tensions in Afghanistan, and could “significantly complicate the negotiation process” in the region.
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Analysts say he was consolidating his power over the movement by bringing in a son and a brother of his predecessor and by launching large scale attacks on Afghan security forces.
