A prominent Taliban military leader was killed along with 29 other members of his organization at a meeting of local leaders and insurgent fighters in Nawzad district. The strike was conducted jointly by the Afghan security forces and the American specials.
The Taliban, NATO and Afghan official sources announced on Sunday the death of Taliban military staff member Abdul Rahim Manan, who was killed Saturday night by a UAV drone. Abdul Rahim Manan was also regarded as the "ghost" governor of Helmand province, bordering on that of Kandahar (south), cradle of the Taliban.
According to Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish, Abdul Rahim Manan was "the military leader of the Taliban not only in Helmand but also in other southern provinces. His death, and that of 32 men with him, is a serious blow to the enemy and will improve security in the province .
"This massacre must not continue"
NATO's mission in Afghanistan confirmed the death of the Taliban military leader in "an air operation" . "The Taliban should rather consider intensifying the peace talks than the armed struggle because it is the only solution," told AFP Colonel David Butler, spokesman for US forces in NATO. "We must move towards a political solution. This massacre should not continue, " he added.
On their official channels of communication, the Taliban recognized a "huge loss" . "The military commander and governor of the Islamic Emirate of Helmand province Mullah Abdul Manan - according to his Taliban name - was the martyr of a cowardly bombing of the American occupiers , " he wrote. Helmand's spokesman Omar Zwak said Abdul Rahim Manan was wounded by "a drone in Nawzad district" and "transported to the hospital where he died . "
A road map for peace negotiations
Abdul Rahim Manan was on the third blacklist of the Center against Terrorist Financing (TFTC), unveiled on October 23 by the United States, Saudi Arabia and five other Gulf countries, freezing the assets of nine potential assets, including six Taliban. This wave of financial sanctions targets Taliban in Afghanistan and Iranian officials accused of supporting them financially.
Earlier this week, the Taliban rejected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's latest peace proposals, which announced Monday the establishment of a "negotiating team" of 12 people and said a "road map for peace negotiations Had been established. The Taliban retorted once again wanting to negotiate "with the American invaders" and not with the Kabul executive, described as "a powerless entity imposed from abroad . "