Afghanistan: Taliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor Is Dead

A U.S. drone strike hit Mansoor's car in Quetta, Afghanistan

The leader of the Taliban has been killed in a U.S. airstrike, the Afghan government said Sunday.

A statement from the National Directorate of Security was the first official confirmation of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor's death, NBC News reported. It was soon followed by confirmation from Afghanistan's chief executive.

There has been no acknowledgement from the Taliban on Mansoor's death.

The U.S. conducted a precision airstrike targeting Mansoor on Saturday in a remote part of southwest Pakistan. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook had said the U.S. was "still assessing the results" of the strikes, though senior defense officials told NBC News that Mansoor was "likely killed."

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