Afghan Defence Ministry responds to the news of death of Mullah Fazlullah
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KABUL/PESHAWAR - Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah has been killed in a U.S.-Afghan air strike in Afghanistan, a senior Afghan Defence Ministry official said on Friday, a killing likely to ease tension between the United States and Pakistan.An official at the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan confirmed Fazlullah was killed on Thursday.
The U.S. military said earlier in Washington it had carried out a strike aimed at a senior militant figure in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar, which is on the Pakistani border, and one U.S. official said the target was believed to have been Fazlullah.
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.
“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 defense ministry, told Reuters, adding the air strike was carried out at about 9 a.m. on Thursday.
U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Martin O’Donnell said U.S. forces conducted a “counter-terrorism strike” which targeted “a senior leader of a designated terrorist organization”.
“U.S. Forces-Afghanistan and NATO-led Resolute Support forces continue to adhere to ... Afghanistan’s unilateral ceasefire with the Afghan Taliban,” O’Donnell said.
The government announced the ceasefire last week and it took effect this week.
“...as previously stated, the ceasefire does not include U.S. counter-terrorism efforts against (Islamic State and al Qaeda) and other regional and international terrorist groups, or the inherent right of U.S. and international forces to defend ourselves if attacked.
“We hope this pause leads to dialogue and progress on reconciliation and a lasting end to hostilities.”
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced a ceasefire lasting until June 20 but on Friday suggested it could be extended.
