The drone attack was the first known American assault on a top Afghan Taliban leader on Pakistani soil.
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The Taliban have so far not commented on the incident in Aliabad district in the volatile province of Kunduz, where the insurgents briefly overran the provincial capital in a stunning military victory previous year. But the acting provincial police chief, Col. Masumi Hashimi, told Pajhwok Afghan News that eight hostages, not 10, were released through the mediation of tribal elders.
The brief capture by the Taleban of Kunduz past year was a major blow to the government of President Ashraf Ghani.
A statement from the ministry said “four terrorists” were involved in the attack in the city of Ghazni, the capital of eastern Ghazni province, on Wednesday.
The attackers wore women’s burqas – a traditional head-to-toe blue garment – to hide themselves, he said. They routinely also target government employees and security officials across the country. A gunfight ensued, which resulted in the death of all attackers, the provincial police chief, Aminullah Amarkhil said. One of the gunmen shot and killed a courthouse guard and was then killed by rooftop snipers.
As many as 24 police were killed on Monday, and another 33 killed on Sunday, with almost 40 injured, regional police commander Esmatullah Dawlatzai said.
Taliban insurgents killed nine people and kidnapped 20 others when they held up three buses in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, while the remaining 140 passengers had to be rescued by Afghan forces, the local deputy police chief said.
Kunduz has been witnessing deteriorating security situation during the past few months as the Taliban were trying to destabilise the northern provinces.
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Khan said during the press conference, that Mansour’s body was handed over after conducting DNA tests and ensuring that it was indeed him who had died during the drone strike.
