The leader of the Pakistani Taliban has been killed in an air strike in Afghanistan, a military official has said. Mullah Fazullah died during a strike carried out in Kunar province on Thursday, according to a spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry. The US military said it had carried out a strike on a senior militant figure in the province, with one official in Washington stating the target was Fazullah. Fazlullah was Pakistan's most-wanted militant, notorious for attacks including a 2014 school massacre that killed 132 children and the 2012 shooting of schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Recommended College student shot by Taliban in 2016 graduates with honours His death could ease strained ties between Islamabad and Washington even as Afghanistan observes an unprecedented three-day ceasefire with the larger Afghan Taliban. “I confirm that Mullah Fazlullah, leader of the Pakistani Taliban, has been killed in an joint air operation in the border area of Marawera district of Kunar province,” Mohammad Radmanish, spokesman for Afghan defence ministry said. Speaking by telephone, Pakistani Taliban member Maulvi Abdur Rasheed said on Friday the group was trying to get word from Afghanistan, where most of its fighters are now based. “We have been hearing since early Friday that our Emir was martyred along with four other militant commanders in Marawar area of Kunar,” Rasheed said. “They were staying at a house when a drone fired missiles and martyred them.” Fazlullah emerged as an Islamist leader in the Swat Valley, northwest of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, more than a decade ago. He was known as “Mullah Radio” for his fiery broadcasts. He was reviled in Pakistan for the 2014 assault on an army-run school in the city of Peshawar in which Pakistani Taliban gunmen killed at least 132 children. He is also believed to have ordered the 2012 shooting of then-15-year-old Ms Yousafzai over her advocacy of girls' education. The Pakistani Taliban have waged a decade-long insurgency seeking to establish a harsh interpretation of Islamic rule but most of their fighters have now fled to Afghanistan. They are separate from the Afghan Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan for five years before being ousted during the US-led invasion of the county in 2001. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. 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Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom.<doc-sep>The head of Pakistan's Taliban, who ordered the failed 2012 assassination of activist Malala Yousafzai, has been killed by U.S airstrikes. Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense confirmed the news on Friday, saying that Mullah Fazlullah was killed in the border area of Marawara district of Kunar province at around 9 a.m. on Thursday. "I confirm that Mullah Fazlullah, leader of the Pakistani Taliban, has been killed in a joint air operation," Mohammad Radmanish, a spokesman for the ministry, told Reuters. Radmanish told the Associated Press that two other militants were killed along with Fazlullah. Prior to Afghanistan's confirmation, an official at the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan announced the successful operation. Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the official name of the branch of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization, also acknowledged the death of its leader, Al Jazeera reported. The militant took charge of the TTP in November 2013 after the death of Hakimullah Mehsud, who was also killed in a U.S. operation. In the past, Fazlullah was described as staunchly against anti-state, critical of peace talks and "a ruthless fighter." He was one of the world's most wanted militant commanders. In addition to the failed hit on Malala, Fazlullah was credited with ordering a massacre of scores of pupils attending an army school in Peshawar, Pakistan. The militant rose to prominence through fiery radio rants, earning him the nickname "Mullah Radio." He was a strong opponent of the U.S., vaccination efforts and female education, and strongly promoted the implementation of a strict form of extremist Islamic law. Fazlullah once claimed that polio vaccination campaigns were a "conspiracy of Jews and Christians to make Muslims impotent and stunt the growth of Muslims." Malala Yousafzai rose to prominence for promoting female education as a young girl. In 2012, Taliban fighters attempted to kill her when she was just 15 years old as she rode a bus home after taking an exam. Despite being shot in the face, she made a dramatic recovery and has since become a global activist. In her efforts, Yousafzai has addressed female education, women's rights and refugee rights, and criticized Islamophobic attacks against Muslims. She was named a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her struggle in support of education. Now 20 years old, Yousafzai studies at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.<doc-sep>
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The leader of the Pakistani Taliban was killed by a U.S. drone strike, an Afghan official said Friday. Mullah Fazlullah Khorasani was Pakistan's most-wanted militant and blamed for attacks including a 2014 school massacre that killed 132 children and the 2012 shooting of schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In March, the U.S. offered a $5 million reward for information on Fazlullah. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told NBC News that Fazlullah died in a strike in the Marawaya district of the border province of Kunar. Earlier, Lt. Col Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement that U.S. forces had carried out an airstrike Thursday in Kunar "which targeted a senior leader of a designated terrorist organization." The Kunar river in Afghanistan's Kunar province. John Moore / Getty Images file Fazlullah's death could ease strained ties between Islamabad and Washington even as Afghanistan observes an unprecedented three-day ceasefire with the larger Afghan Taliban. Pakistan is considered key to persuading Afghan Taliban leaders, who Washington believes shelter on Pakistani soil, to open negotiations to end the 17-year-old war in Afghanistan. Prior to the Afghan Defense Ministry stating that Fazlullah had been killed, several members of the Pakistani Taliban told NBC News they had been unable to make contact with him and other senior commanders since receiving word of the strike. They said they feared four other top commanders may also have been killed. "Most of our people are seriously concerned ‎after they heard about the killing of our leader, but the top leadership is out of access," Pakistani Taliban commander Maulvi Obaidur Rahman told NBC News. Like many other Pakistani militants, Khorasani had crossed into Afghanistan after the Pakistani army launched a major military offensive in the Swat Valley in 2009. Mushtaq Yusufzai reported from Peshawar, Francis Whittaker from London, and Ahmed Mengli from Kabul.