AhlulBayt News Agency - Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was targeted by a U.S. airstrike Saturday along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and was "likely killed," senior defense officials said.
Officials were trying to confirm whether he was indeed killed by the strike, which was authorized by President Barack Obama.
The senior defense officials said that Mansoor and another Taliban combatant were "likely killed" by the airstrikes from "multiple" U.S. drones that struck a vehicle in which they were riding in a remote area of Pakistan, southwest of the town of Ahmad Wal.
A senior defense official claimed there was "no collateral damage" — meaning no civilians killed in the strikes.
The White House is awaiting official confirmation of Mansoor's death before releasing their own statement about the strike, a senior White House official said.
If confirmed, the death would be a serious blow to the organization. Mansoor became its leader last July, when it was revealed that reclusive long-time head, Mullah Omar, had died two years prior. Mansoor had been his deputy.
The Taliban quickly issued a statement denying that Mansoor was killed, even before the Pentagon made its announcement Saturday that a U.S. airstrike targeted him. A Taliban commander close to Mansoor denied he was dead, and said members of Mansoor's family said Saturday that he was fine.
The Taliban in the past has denied the deaths of senior Taliban members. Another Taliban member said that a senior Taliban figure was killed two or three days ago but didn't provide any information about his identity.
That abrupt shift in leadership from Mullah Omar to Mansoor raised hopes that a weakened Taliban would be willing to make concessions in Afghan peace talks.
Instead, Mansoor appointed new top deputies and won a string of battlefield victories, the most notable of which was Kunduz in northern Afghanistan last September.
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