Image copyright EPA Image caption Security has been stepped up in the aftermath of the killing of Mullah Abdul Manan Akhund

One of the Taliban's most senior commanders has been killed in a US airstrike in Afghanistan.

Mullah Abdul Manan Akhund was the Taliban's "governor" and military chief for the southern Helmand province.

He was killed in the Nawzad district of Helmand on Saturday night, provincial officials said.

The Taliban said his death was a "major loss" but it would not deter them in their efforts to take back control of Afghanistan.

But Afghan interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told the AFP news agency his death was a major blow to the Taliban and would "lower the morale" of its fighters in southern Afghanistan.

Helmand is where British troops were based for eight years before ground troops were withdrawn in 2014. Large parts of the province are now back under Taliban control.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC was given rare access to see life under the Taliban in 2017

BBC research earlier this year showed Taliban insurgents control more territory in the country than at any time since 2014.

It is estimated that about 15 million people - half the population - are living in areas that are either controlled by the Taliban or where its fighters are openly present and regularly mount attacks.

However, there have been intense efforts to persuade the Taliban to begin peace talks to end the fighting. It sent delegates to a meeting in Russia last month to discuss the issue, but has refused to hold direct talks with the Afghan government.

Who are the Taliban?

A hardline Islamic movement which swept to power in Afghanistan in 1996 after the civil war which followed the Soviet-Afghan war

They ruled Afghanistan until they were ousted by the US-led invasion five years later

In power, they imposed a brutal version of Sharia law, such as public executions and amputations, and banned women from public life

Men had to grow beards and women to wear the all-covering burka; television, music and cinema were banned</s>A top commander of the Afghan Taliban has been killed in the southern province of Helmand.

Provincial Governor Mohammad Yasin Khan told RFE/RL that Mullah Abdulmanan was killed along with four other militants in an air strike in the Nawzad district on December 1.

Mullah Abdulmanan was in charge of Helmand Province for the militants group.

His death was confirmed by Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid and by the U.S. military.

"They're going to have trouble intensifying the fight when their fighters and leaders are under constant assault,” Colonel Dave Butler, spokesman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, said in an e-mailed statement.

Talks to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan are “the only solution," Butler added.

Mullah Abdulmanan "was the most senior Taliban commander in the south and his death will have an overall impact on security," a senior security official in Kabul was quoted as saying.

Taliban fighters increased their control over Helmand Province in the years following the withdrawal of most NATO combat troops in 2014.

Last month, U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad held talks with the Taliban in Qatar as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump stepped up efforts to settle the Afghan conflict.

The militants have long refused U.S. demands to directly negotiate with the Western-backed government in Kabul, which has struggled to counter attacks from the militant group since 2014.</s>A top commander of the Taliban has been killed in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand in a joint operation by Afghan and U.S. Special Forces, Afghan officials and Taliban members said on Sunday.

Abdul Manan, who was in charge of Helmand province for the insurgent group, was killed along with 29 others by an air strike on Saturday while he was meeting local commanders and fighters in the Nawzad district, Helmand provincial governor Mohammad Yasin Khan said.

His death was confirmed by Taliban members in Helmand and neighbouring Kandahar province but there was no initial confirmation from the U.S. military, which said it was looking into the incident.

The death of Mullah Manan, who commanded Taliban fighters as they steadily increased their control over Helmand in the years following the end of most international combat missions in 2014, was seen as a major success by Afghan officials.

"He was the most senior Taliban commander in the south and his death will have an overall impact on security," one senior security official in Kabul said.

The report of Manan's death comes as both the Western-backed security forces and the Taliban have pushed to gain the momentum at the same time as efforts have stepped up to find a peaceful settlement to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan.

Although contacts have started between U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban representatives, there has been no let up in the fighting, with both sides aiming to build a favourable position in advance of any peace talks.</s>A senior Taliban commander has been killed in Afghanistan by a US drone strike in what the terror group has described as a "big loss".

Mullah Abdul Manan was killed with 32 others by an airstrike on Saturday as he met local commanders and fighters in Nawzad district in Helmand province, provincial governor Mohammad Yasin Khan said.

He was the "shadow governor" of Helmand province - the largest supplier of Afghanistan's opium crop - for the insurgent group and headed up the Taliban's southern Afghanistan command.

His death was confirmed by Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid who said it was a "big loss" for the group.

The US military also confirmed his death, adding that Afghan forces had gone on the offensive with US support.

They had used precision airstrikes to push the Taliban to accept engaging in peace talks, he added.

Colonel Dave Butler, spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan, said: "They're going to have trouble intensifying the fight when their fighters and leaders are under constant assault.

Pictures claiming to be of Manan's body were being circulated on social media.

His death is being seen by Afghan officials as a major success because Manan commanded Taliban fighters while they steadily increased control over Helmand in the years following the end of most international combat missions in 2014.

"He was the most senior Taliban commander in the south and his death will have an overall impact on security," one senior security official in Kabul said.

Afghan interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish, added: "His death will lower the morale of the enemy, and result in (the) improvement of security in Helmand and other southern provinces."

Manan was on a blacklist unveiled in mid-October by the Riyadh-based Terrorist Financing Targeting Centre, which imposed financial sanctions on nine individuals, including six Taliban members.

The commander's death comes as the Western-backed security forces and the Taliban are pushing to gain momentum, with efforts stepped up to find a peaceful settlement to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan.</s>LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A top commander of the Taliban was killed in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand in a joint operation by Afghan and U.S. Special Forces, Afghan officials and Taliban members said on Sunday.

Abdul Manan, who was in charge of Helmand province for the insurgent group, was killed along with 29 others by an air strike on Saturday while he was meeting local commanders and fighters in the Nawzad district, Helmand provincial governor Mohammad Yasin Khan said.

His death was confirmed by Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid and by the U.S. military, which said Afghan forces had gone on the offensive with U.S. support, notably through precision air strikes to push the Taliban to accept peace talks.

“They’re going to have trouble intensifying the fight when their fighters and leaders are under constant assault. Peace talks are the only solution,” Col Dave Butler, spokesman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, said in an emailed statement.

The death of Mullah Manan, who commanded Taliban fighters as they steadily increased their control over Helmand in the years following the end of most international combat missions in 2014, was seen as a major success by Afghan officials.

“He was the most senior Taliban commander in the south and his death will have an overall impact on security,” one senior security official in Kabul said.

The report of Manan’s death comes as both the Western-backed security forces and the Taliban have pushed to gain the momentum at the same time as efforts have stepped up to find a peaceful settlement to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan.

Although contacts have started between U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban representatives, there has been no let up in the fighting, with both sides aiming to build a favourable position in advance of any peace talks.</s>KABUL: A senior Taliban military commander has been killed in a US airstrike in Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday.

Abdul Manan, who was the Taliban´s ´shadow governor´ in the southern Helmand province, died of wounds sustained during an airstrike late on Saturday said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the official governor of the province.

Manan´s death was also confirmed by the Taliban who in a statement described it as a "big loss" for the group but vowed that it will not affect their military operations.

As a senior Taliban leader, Abdul Manan had led the insurgency group´s expansion as it expanded control over the opium-rich province in recent years.

Afghan interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said Manan was the militants´ top military leader in southern Afghanistan and his death as a major blow to the Taliban.

"His death will lower the morale of the enemy, and result in (the) improvement of security in Helmand and other southern provinces," Najib Danish told AFP.

Danish said that 32 other Taliban fighters were also killed in the airstrike.

A US force spokesman in Afghanistan confirmed the airstrike had killed the Taliban shadow governor.

"The Taliban should consider intensifying peace talks, not the fight. They´re going to have trouble intensifying the fight when their fighters and leaders are under constant assault," Col. Dave Butler said in a statement.

Abdul Manan was on the blacklist unveiled mid-October by the Riyadh-based Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), which imposed financial sanctions on nine individuals, including six Taliban members.</s>A top Taliban leader was killed in what is believed to have been a United States airstrike in Afghanistan, according to Taliban officials, just as Washington was in delicate peace talks with the insurgent movement, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report made available to EFE on Sunday.

Abdul Manan was the Taliban "shadow governor" for Helmand province in the south, a key territory for the group, which also gave him control over a large part of the group's finances.</s>A key Taliban commander in Afghanistan was killed in a U.S. airstrike on Saturday night, local government officials and the Taliban said.

Mohammad Yasin, governor of restive southern Helmand province, told Anadolu Agency that Mullah Abdul Manan was targeted along with his guards in the Nauzaad district late on Saturday.

He added that the notorious Taliban commander involved in nationwide terrorist attacks succumbed to his wounds on Sunday.

According to the local Khama Press, Mullah Abdulu Rahim alias Mullah Abdul Manan -- who was the group's shadow governor for Helmand -- was killed with his four comrades and two of his security guards.

Manan's death was also confirmed by the Taliban who in a statement described it as a "big loss" for the group but vowed that it will not affect their military operations.

Helmand -- the region that supplies the largest share of Afghanistan's opium crop -- has been the scene of bitter fighting for years with 10 out of 14 districts of the province either controlled or contested by the Taliban.

As a senior Taliban leader, Abdul Manan had led the insurgency group's expansion as it expanded control over the opium-rich province in recent years.

Afghan interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said Manan was the militants' top military leader in southern Afghanistan and his death as a major blow to the Taliban.

"His death will lower the morale of the enemy, and result in (the) improvement of security in Helmand and other southern provinces," Najib Danish told AFP.

Danish said that 32 other Taliban fighters were also killed in the airstrike.

A U.S. force spokesman in Afghanistan confirmed the airstrike had killed the Taliban shadow governor.

"The Taliban should consider intensifying peace talks, not the fight. They're going to have trouble intensifying the fight when their fighters and leaders are under constant assault," Col. Dave Butler said in a statement.

Abdul Manan was on the blacklist unveiled mid-October by the Riyadh-based Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), which imposed financial sanctions on nine individuals, including six Taliban members.

The killing of the Taliban military leader comes despite increased efforts by the Afghan government and its Western backers to put an end to the 17-year war.

U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad recently expressed hopes that a peace deal to end the war could be struck before the Afghan presidential election, scheduled for April.

At an international conference on Afghanistan in Geneva last Monday, Afghan president Ashraf Ghani said a 12-person negotiating team has been prepared for peace talks.

But the Taliban have rejected Ghani's overtures, calling the government in Kabul "impotent" and a "waste of time."

Ghani said the Afghan military has lost 28,529 soldiers in conflicts with the Taliban since 2015, when Afghan forces took over responsibility for national security from NATO.

The Taliban gained power in Afghanistan in 1996 after the civil war which followed the Soviet-Afghan war. They ruled Afghanistan for five years until the U.S.-led invasion that started in 2001.</s>The Taliban shadow governor for southern Helmand province was killed in an air raid on Saturday night.

The provincial media office in a statement confirmed on Sunday that Mullah Abdul Rahim also known as Mullah Abdul Manan was killed along with his two spokesmen – identified as Hafiz Rashid and Mullah Jawid – and his two guards.

According to the statement, Mullah Abdul Rahim was also a military in charge of the Taliban in the province.

The Taliban Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid in a statement confirmed the incident.

Helmand has been among the restive provinces of Afghanistan in the south, where the militant groups including the Taliban are actively operating in its number of remote districts.</s>ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—A top Taliban leader was killed Saturday in what is believed to have been a U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan, according to Taliban officials, just as Washington is in delicate peace talks with the insurgent movement.

Abdul Manan was the Taliban “shadow governor” for Helmand province in the south, a key territory for the group, which also gave him control over a large part of the group’s finances. Helmand is the center of the country’s drug trade, and the Taliban tax the drugs business.
A senior Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Manan Akhund, is killed in a U.S. air strike in Afghanistan.